Machiel Duijser Sells 5,721 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $265.92. 1,265,185 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,264,376. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $243.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.3% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 144.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 198,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,628,000 after buying an additional 4,179 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

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.