Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Position Cut by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 701,866 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,982 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.25% of Ecolab worth $164,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Ecolab by 797.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock traded up $2.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $234.98. 1,347,002 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,147,598. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $254.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, 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 owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.00.

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.