Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5 %

Ecolab stock opened at $268.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.02 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $270.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.00.

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.