Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1 %

ECL stock opened at $250.87 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 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 $71.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $252.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.97.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.