Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 303,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,310 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for 3.6% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.11% of Ecolab worth $76,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 42,061 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,690,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 17,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,316,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,906 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $934,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research 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.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $5.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $261.07. 967,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,174,452. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50 day moving average price is $253.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.28.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Ecolab Company 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.