Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stake Reduced by Pensioenfonds Rail & OV

Pensioenfonds Rail & OV lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 32.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 84,480 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up about 2.9% of Pensioenfonds Rail & OV’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Pensioenfonds Rail & OV owned approximately 0.06% of Ecolab worth $40,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,598,240,000 after buying an additional 305,039 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,264,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,215,000 after purchasing an additional 91,547 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Ecolab by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,855,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $367,965,000 after acquiring an additional 155,151 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,420,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 117.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,669,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,185,000 after acquiring an additional 903,307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ECL traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $240.96. 465,126 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,173,711. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $245.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.67.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Raymond James increased their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.