Waverly Advisors LLC Sells 1,519 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Waverly Advisors LLC cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,519 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 98.6% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $334,394,000 after purchasing an additional 708,432 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 206.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $179,749,000 after purchasing an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Ecolab by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after purchasing an additional 514,944 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $80,564,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price 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. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $261.22 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.47.

About Ecolab

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.

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