Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 646 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 79.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Ecolab by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $264.47 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $268.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $244.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.78. The firm has a market cap of $74.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company 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.