Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Reduced by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,317,811,000 after purchasing an additional 68,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 35,027 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% during the third 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 buying an additional 8,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its position in Ecolab by 1.2% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,168,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $295,661,000 after buying an additional 13,654 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $265.64 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $268.16. The firm has a market cap of $75.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.00.

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.