Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 935 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.9 %

ECL stock opened at $251.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its 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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.