Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Buys 17,255 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 362,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,255 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises approximately 0.8% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of Ecolab worth $84,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.5 %

ECL stock opened at $259.08 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $73.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $251.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $249.90.

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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.