Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $106.72 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455,424 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,544 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $106,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $269.68 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $250.17 and a 200-day moving average of $249.68. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $76.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

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.