Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 78,954 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 53.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 78,954 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $521,399,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $179,749,000 after purchasing an additional 516,970 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $80,564,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Ecolab by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $936,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Ecolab by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 886,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $207,758,000 after acquiring an additional 296,344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $237.86 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.45. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The firm has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given 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 1.09%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $313.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.00.

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.