Callan Family Office LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Callan Family Office LLC sold 1,037 shares of Ecolab Inc., reducing its stake by 20.2%, leaving it with 4,105 shares valued at approximately $1,041,000.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their positions in Ecolab, with Trillium Asset Management and Dillon & Associates raising their stakes by 1.3% and 7.0% respectively.
• Ecolab reported $1.89 EPS, missing analysts' expectations of $1.90, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, effective on October 15th.

Callan Family Office LLC reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 20.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,105 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,037 shares during the quarter. Callan Family Office LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $280.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,250,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,312,470. The stock has a market cap of $79.65 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $281.96. The business's 50-day moving average is $268.16 and its 200 day moving average is $258.47.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

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.