Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA

Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,013 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up about 4.8% of Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA owned approximately 0.12% of Ecolab worth $77,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,317,811,000 after buying an additional 68,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $981,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,027 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $586,309,000 after acquiring an additional 83,328 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,441,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $337,770,000 after purchasing an additional 38,402 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.3 %

ECL opened at $269.68 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $250.17 and a 200-day moving average of $249.68. The stock has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.