Delta Asset Management LLC TN Sells 1,406 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Delta Asset Management LLC TN lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 82,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,406 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 1.7% of Delta Asset Management LLC TN’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Delta Asset Management LLC TN’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value 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 represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $252.27 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $255.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.16. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

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.