Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Sells $1,510,572.84 in Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

ECL stock opened at $267.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.34. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.41 and a 52 week high of $268.00. The company has a market capitalization of $75.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.33.

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.