UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Reduces Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 182,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,458 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $42,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 206.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $179,749,000 after buying an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $80,564,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 886,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,758,000 after purchasing an additional 296,344 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $61,073,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $39,204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $252.27 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.16. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly 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, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.88.

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.