Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,797 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,475 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.33.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $236.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $67.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.19 and a twelve month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

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.

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