Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stake Lessened by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,189 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ECL opened at $265.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.94 and a 12 month high of $268.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $243.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

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.