106,480 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 106,480 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $25,009,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,860 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Ecolab by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 886,653 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $207,758,000 after acquiring an additional 296,344 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 23,885 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 7,464 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,398,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $0.56 on Thursday, reaching $252.95. 884,819 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,146. The stock has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $255.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.16. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. 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 (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid 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 currently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ECL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.

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.