Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP decreased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,606 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,789 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned approximately 0.11% of Ecolab worth $82,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

ECL traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $267.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 306,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,785. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $75.90 billion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50-day moving average is $249.05 and its 200-day moving average is $249.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.13.

About Ecolab

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.