New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Has $8.85 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 35,867.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,661 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th 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. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.88.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $252.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $255.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.18. 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 stock has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G 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.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Ecolab Company 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.