Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stake Boosted by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 48.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 27,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,832 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 3.0% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ECL opened at $269.47 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.26 billion, a PE ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

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.