Fiduciary Trust Co Purchases 902 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Fiduciary Trust Co raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 56,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $253.32 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.72. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $71.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th 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 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.