Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Holdings Decreased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,518,120 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 63,435 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.24% of Ecolab worth $902,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.87.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,425,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,238. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's fifty day moving average is $250.36 and its 200 day moving average is $245.72.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 36.47%.

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.