Jensen Investment Management Inc. Sells 750 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,614 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in Ecolab by 212.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $250.87 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Ecolab Company 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.