Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Golden State Equity Partners

Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $570,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Invesco LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 17.3% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $249.97 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $241.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.79. 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 company has a market cap of $70.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.49 and a 1 year high of $262.61.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

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.