Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 49.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $254.50 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $256.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $72.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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.