Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,720 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,315 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Ecolab were worth $15,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of ECL stock traded up $4.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $254.74. 313,665 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,621. The stock's 50 day moving average is $246.36 and its 200-day moving average is $247.59. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $72.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.47.

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.