Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Buys 2,261 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 127.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,041 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,261 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $188,578,000 after purchasing an additional 735,934 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $179,749,000 after purchasing an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,564,000. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Ecolab by 750.9% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,519,000 after buying an additional 143,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $84,380,000 after buying an additional 129,738 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $267.43. 936,189 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,241,839. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $244.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.41 and a 1-year high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.33.

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.