1,588 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Bought by Voloridge Investment Management LLC

Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,588 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,202 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $80,564,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $246,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:ECL traded up $1.32 on Friday, reaching $265.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,497,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,549. The firm has a market cap of $75.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.99, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $248.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.65. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.