Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. Buys 3,444 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises about 3.8% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,317,811,000 after acquiring an additional 68,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $981,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,027 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $358,250,000 after acquiring an additional 8,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,161,946 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $272,267,000 after acquiring an additional 6,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.5 %

ECL stock opened at $268.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.02 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a P/E/G 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 $270.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $247.25 and its 200 day moving average is $248.69. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “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. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.