Truist Financial Corp Purchases 5,749 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 442,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,749 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $121,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 0.3% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,411,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group bought a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Liberty Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,992,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $281.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $268.81 and a 200-day moving average of $269.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.95%.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.