Korea Investment CORP Has $50.26 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Korea Investment CORP reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,191 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of Ecolab worth $50,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $252.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $255.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.18. The firm has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.