Auto Owners Insurance Co Has $253.52 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 27,677.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,000,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 996,400 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for approximately 4.8% of Auto Owners Insurance Co's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Auto Owners Insurance Co owned 0.35% of Ecolab worth $253,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $2.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $271.93. 972,465 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,949. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $266.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.13 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $274.17. 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 (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

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.