Summit Global Investments Acquires Shares of 11,239 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,239 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,633,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $252.27. 1,192,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,052,309. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $255.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.15. The firm has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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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%. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

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.