Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 119,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,544 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $23,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.88.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $233.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.63 billion, a PE ratio of 43.21, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $234.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $225.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

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.