Aviva PLC Buys 37,050 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Aviva PLC lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,649 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,050 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $53,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $521,399,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,564,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Ecolab by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $936,300,000 after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Ecolab by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 886,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $207,758,000 after purchasing an additional 296,344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $237.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $256.93 and a 200-day moving average of $250.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.33.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.