KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 106,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $250.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $254.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction 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 $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.