Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,851,000 after buying an additional 122,715 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,149,000 after buying an additional 43,553 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $326,626,000 after acquiring an additional 24,648 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.1 %

ECL stock opened at $253.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $251.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.60. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The company has a market cap of $72.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.96, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.80.

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.