Bearing Point Capital LLC Sells 6,797 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Bearing Point Capital LLC has reduced its stock holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 20.1%, now owning 27,041 shares valued at approximately $6.86 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab's stock, with several firms making significant changes to their positions in the company during the first quarter.
• Ecolab reported quarterly earnings meeting analysts' expectations with $1.50 earnings per share, while its revenue declined by 1.5% year-over-year to $3.70 billion.

Bearing Point Capital LLC cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 20.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,041 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,797 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises 1.5% of Bearing Point Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Bearing Point Capital LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,231,873,000 after purchasing an additional 91,475 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,036,485,000 after buying an additional 93,409 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,744,000 after acquiring an additional 200,612 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Ecolab by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $733,201,000 after buying an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $701,438,000 after acquiring an additional 165,949 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $289.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $5.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $265.26. 774,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,328,364. The company has a market capitalization of $75.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $274.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $266.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $256.04.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

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.