Van Strum & Towne Inc. Decreases Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 533 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up about 0.0% of Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $80,564,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $61,073,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $39,204,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 460,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,835,000 after purchasing an additional 129,729 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.97. The firm 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

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.