Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Holdings Cut by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 94.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 34,902 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $521,399,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 27,182.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,813,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806,529 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $334,394,000 after purchasing an additional 708,432 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after purchasing an additional 514,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $79,980,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE ECL traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $273.53. 224,686 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,179,233. The company has a 50 day moving average of $260.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.58 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $274.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.47.

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.