Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,915 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $365,420,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $390,687,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $91,178,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 305,039 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1,133.0% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,368,000 after buying an additional 232,282 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.00 on Friday, reaching $247.23. 538,404 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,449. The business’s 50-day moving average is $240.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $249.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.78, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.00.

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.