Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $17.89 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 76,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $266.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $246.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.29. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $268.15. The company has a market cap of $75.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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%. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.