Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 67.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,295 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 15,289 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,658,768,000 after buying an additional 105,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $1,231,873,000 after purchasing an additional 91,475 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $936,300,000 after buying an additional 304,478 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.0% in the fourth 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 514,944 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of 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, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $272.07. 500,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,180,500. The firm has a market cap of $77.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $220.96 and a one year high of $275.39. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $259.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 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.