Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 72,352 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,276,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 72,352 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.45% of Ecolab worth $299,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 418,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $97,013,000 after purchasing an additional 18,967 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 87.9% in the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 1,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 120,464 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 20,312 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.88.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ECL opened at $252.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $255.53 and a 200 day moving average of $250.16. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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.