Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Archford Capital Strategies LLC

Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 37.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $266.89 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $220.96 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $256.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.85. The firm has a market cap of $75.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab 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.

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