Candriam S.C.A. Has $79.94 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 341,168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.12% of Ecolab worth $79,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,463,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $61,073,000. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $39,204,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $269.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $248.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.30.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

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.