M. Kulyk & Associates LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,717 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up approximately 1.5% of M. Kulyk & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $269.68 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.66.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.