Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,724 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after buying an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $80,564,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,073,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,204,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,380,000 after purchasing an additional 129,738 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $250.78 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $252.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.95. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % 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 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.