Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s 5th Largest Position

McCollum Christoferson Group LLC decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,476 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises 4.0% of McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $250.79 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.