Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Brown Advisory Inc. cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,706,589 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 78,021 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.60% of Ecolab worth $432,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $39,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $61,073,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ECL stock traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $267.09. 966,348 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,551. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $263.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.10. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $274.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.75 billion, a PE ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities 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.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $287.00.

Ecolab Company 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.