New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 444 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

New York Life Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 444 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Four 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.00.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

ECL stock opened at $267.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $246.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $269.23.

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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 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.