World Equity Group Inc. Purchases 42 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

World Equity Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $263.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $74.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $245.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.97. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $268.00.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.