Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 8,961 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 255,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,961 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Ecolab worth $59,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 35,867.6% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 37,766 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,849,000 after purchasing an additional 37,661 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $521,399,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $3,996,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,620,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $830,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $252.54. 313,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,358,958. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $256.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.23. The stock has a market cap of $71.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69.

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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.