Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 162,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 981 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $40,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $362,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 37,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,822,000 after acquiring an additional 5,189 shares in the last quarter. Bradyco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $724,000. Finally, Andra AP fonden raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 70,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,496,000 after acquiring an additional 13,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.3 %

ECL opened at $269.68 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $250.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.