Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Holdings Lifted by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 376,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,355 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.13% of Ecolab worth $55,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TT International Asset Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth approximately $2,760,000. IMS Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.9% during the third quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.7% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 12,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.4% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 15,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $140.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $158.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.13.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $159.23 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.04 and a 1 year high of $185.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. Ecolab had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 20th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 4,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.95, for a total value of $717,631.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,027,423.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Profile

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Ecolab, Inc engages in the provision of products and services in the field of water, hygiene, and energy. It operates through the following segments: Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Energy & Life Science, and Other. The Global Industrial segment consists of the water, food and beverage, paper, and downstream operating segments.