Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,626 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,872 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $2.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $255.14. 1,099,381 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,681. The company has a market capitalization of $72.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $220.96 and a 1 year high of $273.69. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $248.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.47.

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.