Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Machiel Duijser Sells 5,721 Shares

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $265.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $268.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $243.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. UBS Group lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Breed s Hill Capital LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% 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.