NorthRock Partners LLC Buys 4,252 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 272.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,814 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,252 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 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 in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $261.05. 218,498 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,349. 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 stock has a market cap of $74.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $246.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.72.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

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.