Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $240,676,000 after purchasing an additional 344,541 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,773,000 after buying an additional 14,800 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,254,000 after acquiring an additional 11,322 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 162.4% in the third quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,744,000 after acquiring an additional 9,837 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $283.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $80.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $269.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.08. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $315.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. This represents a 23.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ecolab

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.