Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Hits New 1-Year High on Insider Buying Activity

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $268.00 and last traded at $264.84, with a volume of 991753 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $265.47.

Specifically, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.1 %

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $244.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.57. The stock has a market cap of $74.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after purchasing an additional 105,289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,231,873,000 after purchasing an additional 91,475 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $936,300,000 after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 0.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $981,007,000 after buying an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $831,744,000 after buying an additional 200,612 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.