Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Lessened by Van Strum & Towne Inc.

Van Strum & Towne Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 533 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up approximately 0.0% of Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1 %

ECL stock opened at $250.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $252.47 and its 200 day moving average is $249.97. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

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.