Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Highview Capital Management LLC DE

Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after acquiring an additional 735,934 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,564,000. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 750.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,519,000 after buying an additional 143,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 129,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $264.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $268.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $242.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share 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 research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

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

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.