Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $3.41 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 397.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,567 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,641 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,317,811,000 after purchasing an additional 68,043 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $981,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,027 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Ecolab by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $586,309,000 after acquiring an additional 83,328 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 valued at $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,441,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $337,770,000 after purchasing an additional 38,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

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Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $251.30. 1,106,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,569. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.10. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The firm has a market cap of $71.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This 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. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.