Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 30.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 360,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,774 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $95,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.06.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $271.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $267.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.19. The stock has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

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.