Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Raises Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp grew its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 2.5% of Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $3,441,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Ecolab by 66.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 11,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 91.8% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 55,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,985,000 after acquiring an additional 26,529 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $39,204,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $268.64 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $270.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $76.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $247.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.64.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

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.