Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys 1,115 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 55.1% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,115 shares, bringing its total holdings to 3,140 shares valued at approximately $796,000.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their investments in Ecolab, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its position by 164.7% and Highview Capital Management LLC DE raising its stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have shown a positive outlook for Ecolab, with thirteen analysts rating it a buy and two a strong buy, and an average price target set at $290.71.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 55.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,140 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock traded down $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $260.80. 858,978 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,140,486. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $274.17. The company has a market capitalization of $73.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $256.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $290.71.

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.