1,752 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Bought by Vermillion Wealth Management Inc.

Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Invesco LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.13.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of ECL traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $264.06. 412,277 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,166,798. The company's fifty day moving average price is $247.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.54. The company has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Ecolab 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.