Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Trimmed by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,842 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,712 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 4,145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 20.2% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 298 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7%

ECL stock traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $274.32. 513,655 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,182,279. The company has a market capitalization of $77.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.68 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. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $274.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $261.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. 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. Mizuho cut their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.