Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 228 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 100,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,632,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $935,000. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 766,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,675,000 after acquiring an additional 50,576 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cavalier Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $267.10 on Friday. 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 $75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.42. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $269.23.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued 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 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab 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.