Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 200,612 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.25% of Ecolab worth $831,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th 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. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $2.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $261.22. 1,132,678 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,164,029. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $246.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

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 firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab 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.