Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Raises Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 154.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,952 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $267.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $244.45 and a 200-day moving average of $247.34. The firm has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.41 and a twelve month high of $268.00. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.