Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 558 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 69,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,194,000 after purchasing an additional 5,308 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 8,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. Finally, Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.3 %

ECL stock opened at $242.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $68.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.49 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.