6,280 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Purchased by Brookwood Investment Group LLC

Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,280 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,592,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ECL traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $269.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 171,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,316,739. The stock has a market cap of $76.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $274.17. The company's fifty day moving average price is $266.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.33.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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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