Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 38,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,061,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $252.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $255.53 and a 200-day moving average of $250.16. The company has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.