P. R. Herzig & Company boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The hedge fund owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. P. R. Herzig & Company’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Meristem bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. Atria Investments raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments now owns 2,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital Management raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $362,000. Finally, Lincoln Capital raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln Capital now owns 7,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter.

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) opened at 104.99 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $111.24 and its 200-day moving average is $113.86. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.99 and a 12-month high of $122.48. The stock has a market cap of $31.00 billion and a P/E ratio of 28.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.28. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post $4.40 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 11th.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Canaccord Genuity reissued a “buy” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Vetr raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $122.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. William Blair reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, November 30th. Citigroup Inc. raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $119.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.29.

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