Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 20.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 11,322 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 16.2% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 442,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $121,301,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749 shares during the period. EPG Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.5% during the third quarter. Clarendon Private LLC now owns 1,476 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Triton Financial Group Inc increased its holdings in Ecolab by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Triton Financial Group Inc now owns 6,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.3%

ECL opened at $282.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.52, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $269.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.93. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 41.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Erste Group Bank cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $315.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.33.

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.