Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 482,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,448 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $112,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ECL opened at $238.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $249.91 and its 200-day moving average is $247.90. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $219.97 and a 12 month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

About Ecolab

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.