Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by AlTi Global Inc.

AlTi Global Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 139.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the quarter. AlTi Global Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $733,201,000 after acquiring an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,564,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $255.14 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.79. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.47.

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.