Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 558 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 69,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,194,000 after buying an additional 5,308 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 8,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $242.28 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.49 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The stock has a market cap of $68.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $241.23 and its 200-day moving average is $245.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 36.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.47.

Ecolab Company 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.