QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $12.99 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 91.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 26,529 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

ECL stock opened at $267.10 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $269.23. The firm has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $246.64 and its 200-day moving average is $248.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

About Ecolab

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.