Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,441,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,402 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.51% of Ecolab worth $337,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE ECL opened at $269.87 on Thursday. 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 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.30. The firm has a market cap of $76.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.