Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Lowers Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,453 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $21,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $238.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend 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 presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.71.

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.