Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Lessened by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 304,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,545 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 3.3% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $71,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $247.39 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $241.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.96. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $200.50 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.