Liberty Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for approximately 1.1% of Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 360,415 shares of company stock valued at $88,350,899. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $247.39 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $200.50 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.95. The company has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost 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 1.05%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.60.

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.