LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 985 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for about 2.5% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its position 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 buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2,188.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.47.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.6 %

Ecolab stock opened at $237.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $67.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.49 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $241.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.