Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,550 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Ecolab by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $250.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $254.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.