Insider Buying: Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Director Buys $105,804.00 in Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $267.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.34. 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 1 year low of $215.41 and a 1 year high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 103,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,306,000 after buying an additional 9,858 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,478,000. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,187,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

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.