Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 52,638 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,821 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,249,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Ecolab by 78.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 79,795 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,374,000 after acquiring an additional 34,995 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 28.3% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 11.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.88.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $249.29 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $256.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is 35.23%.

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.