Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,684 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 8,130 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,905,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,345 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,190,000 after buying an additional 1,947 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $726,000. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 53,673 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,577,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE ECL traded down $1.52 on Friday, reaching $237.63. The stock had a trading volume of 2,302,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,018. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $195.49 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $242.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.47.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $277.47.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab 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.