The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $41.91 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,037 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Ecolab worth $41,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,401,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $449,000. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 159.9% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 189,843 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,158,000 after purchasing an additional 116,809 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 109,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,066,000 after purchasing an additional 11,802 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $254.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.70 billion, a PE ratio of 47.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.