1,314 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Bought by Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,314 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

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

Ecolab Stock Up 2.3 %

Ecolab stock traded up $5.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.80. 1,333,612 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,148,624. The company has a market cap of $67.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.19 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The company's fifty day moving average price is $252.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.35. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.33.

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.