Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 56.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,642 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,258 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $264.67 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $274.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.96, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.03. 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 simple moving average is $264.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.57.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ECL. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, 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 through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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