Donoghue Forlines LLC Invests $2.24 Million in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Donoghue Forlines LLC has acquired an approximate $2.24 million stake in Ecolab, purchasing 8,823 shares during the 1st quarter.
• The stock has received multiple positive ratings from analysts, with an average target price of $290.71 and several firms upgrading their ratings to "outperform."
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, translating to an annualized payout of $2.60, with a dividend yield of 1.0%.

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,823 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,237,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 6.6% in the first quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% during the first quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,551,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,414,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. Mirabaud & Cie SA boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,467,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Ecolab from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.71.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:ECL traded up $3.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $272.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 833,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,417. The company has a market capitalization of $77.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.06. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $274.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $267.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $257.72.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 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.