Horizon Investments LLC Grows Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $254.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $253.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.03. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.02%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Ecolab 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.