Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI

Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,770 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,390 shares during the quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $39,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $61,073,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $1.21 on Thursday, hitting $267.01. 395,405 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,177,201. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $274.17. The firm's 50-day moving average is $263.04 and its 200 day moving average is $252.72.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for 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 business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.00.

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.