Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Sets New 12-Month High Following Insider Buying Activity

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $268.00 and last traded at $264.84, with a volume of 991753 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $265.47.

Specifically, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $75.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $243.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $123,000. Breed s Hill Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.