CIBC Asset Management Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $265.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $243.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.94 and a 1 year high of $268.00.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.