Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $250.34. 931,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,032,985. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $250.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $189.58 and a twelve month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's payout ratio is 31.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.87.

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.