Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,138 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 521 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $773,000. Simmons Bank grew its position in Ecolab by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 3,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,343,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $266,392,000 after purchasing an additional 18,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 467,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,702,000 after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $234.12 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $234.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average is $225.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.71.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% 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.