Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 768,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.27% of Ecolab worth $182,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $390,687,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Ecolab by 295.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,598,240,000 after purchasing an additional 305,039 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 580.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 136.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,467,000 after purchasing an additional 206,973 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $253.37 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.92, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $245.81 and a 200-day moving average of $237.51. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 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 company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.29.

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.