Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 491,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,632 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $124,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after purchasing an additional 105,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,231,873,000 after acquiring an additional 91,475 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $936,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,478 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $831,744,000 after acquiring an additional 200,612 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $733,201,000 after acquiring an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $266.59 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.96 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $75.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.13.

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.