Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Alerus Financial NA

Alerus Financial NA cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.7% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 14.6% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 8.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,448,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

Ecolab stock opened at $252.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab 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.