Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC decreased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 569,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 226,576 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Ecolab worth $133,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after buying an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $80,564,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Ecolab by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $936,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,478 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $238.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $254.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.67.

Ecolab 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.