Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 173,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,682 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $40,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

ECL stock opened at $254.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $253.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.03.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Ecolab 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.