Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Increased by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE ECL opened at $265.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $250.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.82. The company has a market capitalization of $75.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

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.