Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 197,798 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 41.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 197,798 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.10% of Ecolab worth $65,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $252.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $71.65 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $249.02 and a 200-day moving average of $247.90. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.47.

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.