Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 491,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,632 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.17% of Ecolab worth $124,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Cavalier Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $266.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $256.95 and a 200-day moving average of $250.95. The company has a market cap of $75.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.33%.

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.