Knuff & Co LLC Acquires 109 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Knuff & Co LLC boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 54.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $259.08 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $251.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.90. 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 stock has a market cap of $73.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

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.