Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $8.80 Million in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 37,556 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $8,800,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 797.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in 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 buying an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $250.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,033,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,893. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $254.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, 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 sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.00.

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.