135 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Bought by Navigoe LLC

Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $246.84 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $249.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.33.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.