1,000 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Purchased by Cypress Capital Group

Key Points

• Cypress Capital Group acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab Inc., valued at approximately $254,000, during the first quarter, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors.
• Ecolab reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.89 for the last quarter, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $1.90.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 16th, indicating a 1.0% dividend yield.

Cypress Capital Group bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.21.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $280.85. 1,245,766 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,309,435. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $281.96. The company has a market cap of $79.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.47.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

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.