Concentric Capital Strategies LP Takes $10.78 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 46,014 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $10,782,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% in the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $334,394,000 after purchasing an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $179,749,000 after purchasing an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $733,201,000 after purchasing an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,564,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2 %

Ecolab stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $252.78. 951,169 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,155,593. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The firm has a market cap of $71.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company's 50-day moving average is $247.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup cut their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab 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.