Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Linscomb Wealth Inc.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its position 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 worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $267.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.42. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $269.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, hitting 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 year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade 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 worth $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.