Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 57,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $14,552,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Archford Capital Strategies LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 78,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 76,191 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,316,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of ECL opened at $266.89 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The business's 50-day moving average price is $256.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current 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 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 0.97%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.33%.

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.

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