Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Has $1.26 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lessened its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 49.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,323 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $287,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $78,218,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1,448.3% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,773 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,805,000 after buying an additional 23,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE ECL traded up $1.32 on Friday, reaching $265.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,497,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,549. The stock's 50 day moving average is $248.17 and its 200-day moving average is $248.65. The stock has a market cap of $75.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.99, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.