Arizona State Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $269.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $248.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.30.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s 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. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

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.