Benjamin F. Edwards & Company reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,470 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perkins Coie Trust Company boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Company now owns 7,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Company boosted its position in Ecolab by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Company now owns 23,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Meristem bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. Carlson Capital Management boosted its position in Ecolab by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Albertson & Miller boosted its position in Ecolab by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Patton Albertson & Miller now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares during the last quarter.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) opened at 107.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.85 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $109.28 and a 200 day moving average of $113.59. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.99 and a 52 week high of $122.48.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business earned $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post $4.40 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 11th.

A number of research firms have commented on ECL. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $126.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $116.00 price target (down from $125.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, January 7th. Jefferies Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price target (down from $124.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $129.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $119.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.29.

In other news, EVP Michael A. Hickey sold 20,900 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.19, for a total value of $2,491,071.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,536.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas M. Baker, Jr. sold 42,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.97, for a total value of $4,971,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 372,558 shares in the company, valued at $43,578,109.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene and energy technologies and services. The Company operating segments include Global Industrial, Global Institutional, Global Energy and Other. The Company’s Global Industrial segment consists of the Water, Food and Beverage, Paper and Textile Care operating units. Global Institutional segment consists of the Institutional, Specialty and Healthcare operating units. The Global Energy segment provides on-site, technology-driven solutions to the global drilling, oil and gas production, refining, and petrochemical industries. Other segment consists of the pest elimination and equipment care operating units. The Company’s cleaning and sanitizing programs and products, pest elimination services and equipment maintenance and repair services support customers in the foodservice, food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, Government and education, retail, textile care and commercial facilities management sectors in over 170 countries.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:ECL

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