Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Buys 7,109 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 607.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,280 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,109 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 5.0 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $237.65 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (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%. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ECL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. 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 news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.