Haven Capital Group Inc. Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Haven Capital Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 16,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,970,000. Ecolab accounts for about 3.7% of Haven Capital Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,927 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 295.5% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 136,731 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,039,000 after buying an additional 102,162 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 6,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $250.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,033,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,893. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The stock's 50 day moving average is $254.48 and its 200 day moving average is $250.03. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.