Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for 1.0% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $936,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.7% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 14.6% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 8.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,448,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ECL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $252.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $255.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.18.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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.