Accredited Investors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Accredited Investors Inc. lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ecolab from $313.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.00.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % 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 worth $4,637,985 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.3 %

Ecolab stock opened at $232.09 on Thursday. 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 $65.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $255.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.45. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.