Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Triangle Securities Wealth Management

Triangle Securities Wealth Management decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,578,000 after acquiring an additional 735,934 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,317,000 after buying an additional 591,040 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Ecolab by 580.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,248,000 after acquiring an additional 258,971 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Ecolab by 750.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,519,000 after acquiring an additional 143,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,380,000 after purchasing an additional 129,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.47.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE ECL opened at $237.63 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.49 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $241.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.48. The company has a market capitalization of $67.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.