Great Lakes Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,264 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,676,000 after buying an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 25.8% in the third quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,773,000 after acquiring an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $2,104,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 17.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 68,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,818,000 after acquiring an additional 10,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 205,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,670 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $282.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $269.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $269.83. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.95%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho set a $315.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ecolab from $315.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.33.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.