Ethic Inc. Sells 2,599 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Ethic Inc. lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,599 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,394,000 after purchasing an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th 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. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $733,201,000 after buying an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,564,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was 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, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $252.78 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $247.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.69. The company has a market capitalization of $71.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.47.

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.