QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 91.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,529 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 212.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

ECL opened at $267.10 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $269.23. 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 stock has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $246.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.42.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.00.

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.