Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Boosted by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,035 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $250.79 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The firm has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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’s 50 day moving average is $254.48 and its 200-day moving average is $250.03.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ECL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

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.