Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,603 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,547,000. Ecolab comprises 1.4% of Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $3.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $258.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,118,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,641. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.59. 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 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.