Insider Buying: Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Director Acquires 400 Shares of Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $2.87 on Friday, hitting $264.47. 970,252 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,233,852. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $244.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $268.00. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,940,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.33.

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.