Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 30.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,422,624 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 333,049 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.50% of Ecolab worth $333,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $80,564,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $936,300,000 after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:ECL traded up $1.94 on Thursday, reaching $239.89. 1,030,516 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,149,653. The business has a fifty day moving average of $251.51 and a 200-day moving average of $248.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.19 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.33.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value 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 trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.