15,728 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Bought by Strategic Financial Concepts LLC

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,685,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:ECL traded up $1.19 on Thursday, reaching $267.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 936,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,839. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.41 and a 12-month high of $268.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $244.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.19.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 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 anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.