Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Forbes J M & Co. LLP

Forbes J M & Co. LLP boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $247.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $241.86 and a 200-day moving average of $245.96. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $200.50 and a 52-week high of $262.61. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $70.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.60.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.06, for a total transaction of $24,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,718,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,372,030,892.46. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 360,415 shares of company stock valued at $88,350,899 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.04% 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.