Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $24.86 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,087 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,252 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Ecolab were worth $24,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $4.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $265.42. 894,828 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,169,344. The company has a market cap of $75.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $247.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.