D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,963 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,189.5% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $164.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Ecolab from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.80.
Ecolab Stock Performance
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 7.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 21st were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 20th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.50%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab
In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 4,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.95, for a total value of $717,631.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,027,423.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Ecolab Profile
Ecolab, Inc engages in the provision of products and services in the field of water, hygiene, and energy. It operates through the following segments: Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Energy & Life Science, and Other. The Global Industrial segment consists of the water, food and beverage, paper, and downstream operating segments.
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