Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,269 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,076 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $179,749,000 after buying an additional 516,970 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Ecolab by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after buying an additional 514,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,564,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly 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. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Ecolab Price Performance
Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $255.14 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. 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 has a market cap of $72.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.88.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ecolab Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.47.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Ecolab
About Ecolab
(
Free Report)
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.
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