150 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Purchased by Millstone Evans Group LLC

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7 %

Ecolab stock opened at $252.72 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $254.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.10. 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 cap of $71.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Ecolab 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.