Buffington Mohr McNeal Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Buffington Mohr McNeal decreased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,658 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for 1.6% of Buffington Mohr McNeal's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Buffington Mohr McNeal's holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on 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 upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.47.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE ECL traded up $1.86 on Thursday, hitting $274.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 513,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,279. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $274.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $260.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.68. The firm has a market cap of $77.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by 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.