Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Trimmed by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 134,972 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,842 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $31,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after buying an additional 105,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,317,811,000 after purchasing an additional 68,043 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 304,478 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $586,309,000 after purchasing an additional 83,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $521,399,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $289.33.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded down $12.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $237.65. 2,594,535 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,133,760. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.15. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

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.