TD Private Client Wealth LLC Reduces Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

TD Private Client Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 601 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $250.79 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.04. The firm has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Corporate 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.