Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $39.47 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,425 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 79,300 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.06% of Ecolab worth $39,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Ecolab by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,769,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $238.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,752,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,152,623. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.01. The company has a market capitalization of $67.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $219.97 and a one year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.33.

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.