Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Stonegate Investment Group LLC

Stonegate Investment Group LLC decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $261.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $255.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.