Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,489 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.2% in the first quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $1,244,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 60.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 229,434 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,171,000 after purchasing an additional 86,641 shares during the period. Vision Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $317,000. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $267.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $75.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $274.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $263.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.10.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $287.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 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 purchase, the director directly owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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