Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 12,757 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,757 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $252.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $255.81 and its 200 day moving average is $250.18. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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.