Zacks Investment Management Has $629,000 Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Zacks Investment Management trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 95.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,686 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 60,066 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Ecolab were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 98.6% during the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $80,564,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Ecolab by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $936,300,000 after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $237.19. 328,056 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,148,198. The firm's fifty day moving average is $251.01 and its 200 day moving average is $248.21. The company has a market cap of $67.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.19 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered 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. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.33.

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.