Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 73,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8 %

Ecolab stock opened at $269.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $76.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $248.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.30. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week 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.

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 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Three 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Ecolab Company 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.