Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of 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. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $268.64 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $270.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $247.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.76. 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 $76.02 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.00.

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.