Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Reduced by Patten & Patten Inc. TN

Key Points

• Patten & Patten Inc. TN has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 11.4%, now holding 12,521 shares valued at approximately $3.17 million.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors increased their holdings in Ecolab, with Dunhill Financial LLC's stake growing by 176.7%.
• Ecolab reported quarterly earnings of $1.50 EPS, matching analysts' expectations, but experienced a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.5% to $3.70 billion.

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,521 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,618 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN's holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $271.93 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.13 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $220.96 and a 1 year high of $274.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $266.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.33%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.33.

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.

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