Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 167,308 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $39,204,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Ecolab as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,338 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,888,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in Ecolab by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 100,854 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $23,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $935,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Ecolab by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 766,794 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $179,675,000 after buying an additional 50,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $0.66 on Tuesday, reaching $270.48. 633,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,244,816. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $247.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.96. The stock has a market cap of $76.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.65, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.