Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 4.4% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 15.9% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 66,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,766,000 after purchasing an additional 9,067 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $224,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,382,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 71.7% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 735 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Ecolab Stock Up 2.3 %
Ecolab stock opened at $252.65 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $241.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.49 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $71.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.13.
Ecolab Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.47%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.60.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ecolab
Insider Activity at Ecolab
In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 425,430 shares of company stock worth $104,201,556 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.
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.
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