Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 380,269 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,177 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Ecolab worth $96,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of ECL traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.59. 883,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,164,073. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.85. The firm has a market cap of $75.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently 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.