Machina Capital S.A.S. Invests $362,000 in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 37,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,822,000 after purchasing an additional 5,189 shares during the last quarter. Bradyco Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $724,000. Andra AP fonden raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 70,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,496,000 after purchasing an additional 13,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,885,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $269.68 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $250.17 and a 200-day moving average of $249.66. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ECL. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.