Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $3.66 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $262.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $242.06 and a 200-day moving average of $246.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $212.71 and a one year high of $267.56.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.96, for a total transaction of $20,629,403.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,534,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,264,396,133.28. This trade represents a 0.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.33.

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.