Northeast Financial Consultants Inc Has $1.41 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Northeast Financial Consultants Inc increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 796,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,285,000 after acquiring an additional 69,142 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 54,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,804,000 after purchasing an additional 3,055 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Ecolab by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Courier Capital LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE ECL opened at $251.44 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $71.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $246.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. 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 earned $1.34 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECL. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target 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 upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.47.

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.