National Pension Service Raises Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,837 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Ecolab worth $163,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $847,544,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 119.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,036,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $548,671,000 after buying an additional 1,109,585 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 115.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $193,753,000 after buying an additional 389,981 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Ecolab by 64.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,676,000 after buying an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,662,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,644,987,000 after acquiring an additional 250,980 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho set a $315.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.33.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.3%

Ecolab stock opened at $282.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $79.88 billion, a PE ratio of 40.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $269.53 and a 200 day moving average of $269.96. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.