Northeast Investment Management Sells 56 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Northeast Investment Management decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,317,811,000 after buying an additional 68,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $981,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Ecolab by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $358,250,000 after purchasing an additional 8,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,168,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $295,661,000 after purchasing an additional 13,654 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.60.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.96, for a total value of $20,629,403.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,534,868 shares in the company, valued at $7,264,396,133.28. This trade represents a 0.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $247.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.96. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $200.50 and a 52 week high of $262.61.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.47%.

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.