Empowered Funds LLC Has $1.31 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 14,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,296,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Forbes J M & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 32,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,537,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 221,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,875,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $264.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $242.98 and a 200-day moving average of $246.57. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.94 and a 1-year high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its 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 return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.