Erste Asset Management GmbH Raises Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $29,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $179,749,000 after buying an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $80,564,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $61,073,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,204,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 64.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,380,000 after acquiring an additional 129,738 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $255.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $72.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $251.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.94. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-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.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last quarter. 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.