Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,350,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GS Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the third quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 16,041 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,717,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE ECL opened at $233.34 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $66.63 billion, a PE ratio of 43.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $234.68.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.