GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Sells 293 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lessened its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,552 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after purchasing an additional 516,970 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $80,564,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $61,073,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $39,204,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 839,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $196,727,000 after purchasing an additional 136,734 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $250.87 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $252.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.98.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

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.