Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,317,811,000 after purchasing an additional 68,043 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $981,007,000 after purchasing an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $358,250,000 after buying an additional 8,332 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,168,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $295,661,000 after acquiring an additional 13,654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE ECL opened at $247.39 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $200.50 and a one year high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $241.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.47%.

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.