First National Advisers LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

First National Advisers LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,317,811,000 after buying an additional 68,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $981,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Ecolab by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $586,309,000 after purchasing an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,441,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $337,770,000 after acquiring an additional 38,402 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE ECL opened at $250.87 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $252.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.99, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities analysts forecast 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, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ECL. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.