Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,075 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $262.70 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.44. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

About Ecolab

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.