Forsta AP Fonden Buys 5,900 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $23,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,851,000 after acquiring an additional 122,715 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $326,626,000 after buying an additional 24,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.80.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.1 %

ECL traded down $2.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $253.49. 621,095 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,170. The stock has a market cap of $72.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $251.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.60. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.