Xponance Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 55,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of 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 purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $253.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.00. The company has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ECL. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Ecolab 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.