Mirova US LLC Sells 11,422 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Mirova US LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,966,508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,422 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises approximately 5.9% of Mirova US LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Mirova US LLC owned approximately 0.69% of Ecolab worth $390,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,129,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 526.2% in the 4th quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,298,000 after purchasing an additional 47,863 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $35,040,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 167,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,128,000 after purchasing an additional 47,351 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.47.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE ECL traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $220.38. 1,733,417 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,028,096. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $231.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $63.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 47.60%.

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.