Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,476 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 233,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,702,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 112,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,442,000 after acquiring an additional 10,035 shares in the last quarter. Next Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $867,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.9 %

Ecolab stock opened at $251.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.04. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.