Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Rothschild Capital Partners LLC

Rothschild Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up 3.1% of Rothschild Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,394,000 after acquiring an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,564,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,422,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,349,000 after buying an additional 333,049 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $239.89 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.19 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.04 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last quarter. 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.