Jennifer J. Bradway Sells 856 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $268.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $76.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $247.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.64. 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 $270.57.

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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $287,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $99,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,218,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,448.3% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,805,000 after purchasing an additional 23,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.