Nomura Holdings Inc. Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 161.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,042 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 8,047 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $2.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $261.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,132,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,029. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $246.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.60. 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 $74.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue 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 forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.