Claro Advisors LLC Has $914,000 Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,635,000 after purchasing an additional 37,167 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,129,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $749,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 526.2% during the 4th quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,298,000 after purchasing an additional 47,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $235.44 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $245.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $67.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.60, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.60.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

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.