Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Sells 4,830 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,830 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $244,381,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,617,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,007,851,000 after purchasing an additional 51,712 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,412,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $641,609,000 after buying an additional 88,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Ecolab by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $596,902,000 after buying an additional 830,726 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $302.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.20, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $282.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.58.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.