NorthRock Partners LLC Increases Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 272.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,252 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 5,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its holdings in Ecolab by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 12,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,032,000 after acquiring an additional 5,418 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 10,726 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,513,000 after buying an additional 1,803 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,547,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,448.3% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,805,000 after buying an additional 23,173 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $249.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $70.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. 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 quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $246.36 and its 200-day moving average is $247.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.