Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,323 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.2%

ECL opened at $258.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $246.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.62.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

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.

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