Dudley & Shanley Inc. Has $26.80 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Dudley & Shanley Inc. lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 4.2% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,317,811,000 after acquiring an additional 68,043 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $981,007,000 after buying an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,851,000 after acquiring an additional 122,715 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $358,250,000 after purchasing an additional 8,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL traded up $0.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $239.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,085,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,099,054. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $67.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $249.12 and a 200-day moving average of $246.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.