Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 167,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,204,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $268.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $76.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $247.25 and its 200 day moving average is $248.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $270.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.50% 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.