Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 10,035 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 10,035 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $252.27. 1,192,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,397,133. 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 $71.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's fifty day moving average is $255.22 and its 200 day moving average is $250.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.