Board of the Pension Protection Fund Lowers Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 71.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 900 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund's holdings in Ecolab were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 15.6% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 37,617 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,822,000 after buying an additional 5,189 shares in the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 104,153 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,405,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,467,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $267.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $258.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $251.19.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.