Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC

Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 781 shares during the period. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,658,768,000 after buying an additional 105,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,231,873,000 after purchasing an additional 91,475 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $936,300,000 after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $701,438,000 after buying an additional 165,949 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $586,309,000 after acquiring an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $238.51 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.27 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.58. The firm has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

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.