Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Position Raised by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 416,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,809 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.15% of Ecolab worth $97,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position 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 buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $40,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position 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 buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.2 %

Ecolab stock opened at $264.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.94 and a 52 week high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.