Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $44.38 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 223,739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 39,362 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.08% of Ecolab worth $44,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $220.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $63.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.00, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $231.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $222.38 and its 200 day moving average is $198.49.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $238.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $216.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.47.

About Ecolab

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.