Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Holdings Raised by Cavalier Investments LLC

Cavalier Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,724 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in Ecolab by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Four research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $265.64 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $268.16. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.99, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

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.