Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Simon Quick Advisors LLC

Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 54.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $80,564,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,713,000 after buying an additional 4,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,476 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $263.81 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $252.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.14. The firm has a market cap of $74.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.75, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Ecolab’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.13.

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.