Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position 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 last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,564,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Ecolab by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,380,000 after acquiring an additional 129,738 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $31,276,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ECL. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.00.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $263.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $245.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.74 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $268.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.