Leeward Financial Partners LLC Purchases 923 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Leeward Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for about 1.5% of Leeward Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Leeward Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,658,768,000 after purchasing an additional 105,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,231,873,000 after buying an additional 91,475 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $936,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,478 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $586,309,000 after acquiring an additional 83,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $521,399,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $250.06 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. 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 50 day moving average price is $257.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.26. The firm has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.