Curi RMB Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Curi RMB Capital LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 556 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th 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 period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $231.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $65.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $252.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.43. 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 $217.27 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ECL. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Monday, February 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.