Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $158.85 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 677,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 82,681 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $158,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Martin Currie Ltd. boosted its position in Ecolab by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Martin Currie Ltd. now owns 5,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Ecolab by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 739,978 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $173,392,000 after acquiring an additional 177,579 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 543,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,266,000 after purchasing an additional 66,035 shares during the period. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $249.29 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $256.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab 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.