Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Certuity LLC

Certuity LLC trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 83.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,998 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $40,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,264,396,133.28. This represents a 0.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $265.74 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.94 and a 1-year high of $267.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $242.33 and a 200-day moving average of $246.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

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.