Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 276.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 9,462 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $188,578,000 after purchasing an additional 735,934 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Ecolab by 295.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $188,317,000 after buying an additional 591,040 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Ecolab by 580.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,248,000 after buying an additional 258,971 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 136.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $85,467,000 after acquiring an additional 206,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 87.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 333,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,376,000 after acquiring an additional 155,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.87.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,428,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,249. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $250.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.83. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $193.46 and a one year high of $262.61. The stock has a market cap of $70.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.