UMB Bank n.a. Boosts Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 23.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 12,908 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after purchasing an additional 105,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,231,873,000 after buying an additional 91,475 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $936,300,000 after buying an additional 304,478 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Ecolab by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,744,000 after acquiring an additional 200,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after acquiring an additional 514,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded down $2.61 on Monday, reaching $264.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,163,076. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $249.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.43. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $220.96 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $75.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business 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 equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.