Truist Financial Corp Has $97.50 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 416,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,809 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $97,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $264.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $242.98 and its 200-day moving average is $246.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.94 and a 52 week high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

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.