Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $51,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 increased its position in Ecolab by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $358,250,000 after buying an additional 8,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,168,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $295,661,000 after acquiring an additional 13,654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.96, for a total value of $20,629,403.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,534,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,264,396,133.28. The trade was a 0.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $247.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $200.50 and a one year high of $262.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.60.

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.