Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Holdings Reduced by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 54.1%, selling 8,500 shares to end up with 7,200 shares valued at approximately $1,825,000.
• Research reports show that Ecolab received upgraded ratings from multiple analysts, with price targets now reaching up to $305.00 from firms such as Mizuho and Robert W. Baird.
• Ecolab recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 34.71%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 54.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,500 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $290.71.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE ECL traded up $3.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $264.06. 716,935 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,185,174. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $274.17. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $266.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 2.67 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.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 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.