KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $25.01 Million Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 106,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,317,811,000 after purchasing an additional 68,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 valued at $981,007,000 after purchasing an additional 35,027 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $586,309,000 after buying an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 38,402 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $250.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $254.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.