Financial Counselors Inc. Has $28.23 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,464 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $28,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 4.7% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 17.5% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 11.1% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,418 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 68,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,574,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $251.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $255.22 and a 200-day moving average of $250.15.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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 research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.88.

Ecolab 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.