Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $8.20 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,489 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% during 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 stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st 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 bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $266.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.32. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $256.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.95. The firm has a market cap of $75.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

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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