Amundi Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Amundi grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $586,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 318.2% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,005,000 after acquiring an additional 16,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 43,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,074,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.3 %

ECL opened at $269.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $250.17 and its 200-day moving average is $249.61. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

About Ecolab

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.