LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Has $1.40 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $269.47 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $76.26 billion, a PE ratio of 36.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $247.86 and a 200-day moving average of $248.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

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.