KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Ecolab were worth $28,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $2.07 on Friday, hitting $271.90. 533,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,319,120. The firm's 50 day moving average is $266.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $220.96 and a one year high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.