Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stake Boosted by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 180,766 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,028 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.06% of Ecolab worth $46,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $0.94 on Monday, reaching $249.40. 1,017,061 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,104. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $191.53 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $70.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $250.69 and a 200-day moving average of $245.61.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.87.

Ecolab 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.