Trillium Asset Management LLC Sells 10,516 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Trillium Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,756 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,516 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises 1.3% of Trillium Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $49,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $253.51 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.00. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. 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 market cap of $71.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. 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 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.