Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA’s 8th Largest Position

Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 328,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,013 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises about 4.8% of Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $77,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ECL opened at $269.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a PEG 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 fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $250.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $249.68.

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, hitting 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 forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ecolab

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.