Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,161 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $237.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $256.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $67.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.