Aldebaran Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 386 shares during the quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $231.67 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.27 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $252.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.43. The company has a market capitalization of $65.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.33.

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.