Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Ecolab

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1 %

ECL opened at $250.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. 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 $252.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.98.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given 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 1.04%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ECL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report).