ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Grows Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,459 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $29,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,662,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,644,987,000 after purchasing an additional 250,980 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,019,000 after acquiring an additional 22,986 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $703,452,000 after purchasing an additional 90,005 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $674,497,000 after purchasing an additional 205,634 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.33.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $288.10 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $270.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.31. The company has a market capitalization of $81.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $289.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

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 paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 41.95%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

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

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.