Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $259.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.90. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.