Aries Wealth Management Trims Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Aries Wealth Management lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,305 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Aries Wealth Management’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $265.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $242.33 and a 200-day moving average of $246.20. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.94 and a 52-week high of $267.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.