Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,305 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,755 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 9.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 796,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $203,285,000 after buying an additional 69,142 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,413 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $261.02. The stock had a trading volume of 193,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,376,317. The stock has a market cap of $74.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Five 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

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.