California Public Employees Retirement System Has $173.39 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 739,978 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 177,579 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.26% of Ecolab worth $173,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $521,399,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $80,564,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $936,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,478 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Ecolab by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 886,653 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $207,758,000 after purchasing an additional 296,344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

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Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $12.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $237.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,594,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,135,019. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $256.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.15.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 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, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $289.33.

Ecolab 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.