Generali Investments Management Co LLC Buys Shares of 3,702 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $253.51 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.00. The firm has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on ECL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on 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 increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.