Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises 1.0% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 1.41% of Ecolab worth $936,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,658,768,000 after buying an additional 105,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $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 3rd 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 valued at $981,007,000 after purchasing an additional 35,027 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Ecolab by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $586,309,000 after purchasing an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $521,399,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.88.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $252.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $255.81 and its 200 day moving average is $250.18. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.