iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $1.99 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,476 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 206.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after purchasing an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $80,564,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $61,073,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $39,204,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 839,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $196,727,000 after purchasing an additional 136,734 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $250.79 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.03. 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 stock has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.