Global Retirement Partners LLC Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Global Retirement Partners LLC lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,432 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 41,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,821,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 3,047 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 13,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,052,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. Citigroup raised their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $267.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $244.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $247.34. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.41 and a twelve month high of $268.00. The company has a market capitalization of $75.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

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.