Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Has $860,000 Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,204,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 38,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,989,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 161.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,398,000 after purchasing an additional 11,586 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 447.5% during the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 29,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,885,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $267.76 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.15.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

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.