Fox Run Management L.L.C. Boosts Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of ECL opened at $250.79 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $254.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.04. The stock has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s payout ratio 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.