Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Ecolab by 62.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings 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. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $265.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $243.29 and a 200-day moving average of $246.86. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $268.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.30, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.