UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,458 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of Ecolab worth $42,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $252.27 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $255.53 and its 200 day moving average is $250.16. 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 firm has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.88.

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.