Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Position Raised by MGO One Seven LLC

MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

ECL stock opened at $238.90 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $219.97 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The firm has a market cap of $67.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

About Ecolab

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.