Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Lowers Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 45.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 755,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 634,300 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt owned about 0.27% of Ecolab worth $191,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,890,000. PFG Advisors acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $230,000. Gries Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.4% in the first quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 17,235 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,369,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 106,519 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $268.40. 240,918 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,183,178. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $264.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.44. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $274.17. The firm has a market cap of $76.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.48, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.33.

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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