Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Cibc World Markets Corp

Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 295.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,731 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 102,162 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp's holdings in Ecolab were worth $32,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $981,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,027 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Ecolab by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $586,309,000 after acquiring an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,441,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $337,770,000 after acquiring an additional 38,402 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $2.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $251.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,179,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,046,429. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $71.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.03. 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 (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.00.

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.