DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Increases Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 258,838 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,135 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.09% of Ecolab worth $51,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 4,149 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 7.6% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,172 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 23.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.7% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 17.1% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,182 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,920,000 after purchasing an additional 10,676 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $226.76.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $3.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.75. 1,410,422 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,157,055. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $219.11 and a 200-day moving average of $195.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $231.86. The firm has a market cap of $65.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.55, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 47.60%.

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.