Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 152.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $179,749,000 after buying an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,564,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $936,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,478 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.8 %

ECL opened at $236.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.84. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $67.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.00.

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.