Mirova Boosts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Mirova grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 164,556 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 9,913 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for approximately 6.7% of Mirova's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Mirova owned approximately 0.06% of Ecolab worth $38,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.33.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $238.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,127. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $218.19 and a one year high of $273.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $252.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.35.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

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.