Norges Bank Buys Shares of 2,225,156 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,225,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $521,399,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $249.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $256.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.18. The company has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.88.

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.