Raiffeisen Bank International AG Makes New $79.98 Million Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 341,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,980,000. Ecolab makes up 1.2% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned about 0.12% of Ecolab at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given 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 an average price target of $282.47.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $249.51 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $246.36 and its 200 day moving average is $247.59. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $70.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

About Ecolab

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.