Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 222 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Robbins Farley acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $221.69 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $231.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.47.

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.