Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Quilter Plc

Quilter Plc lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,175 shares during the quarter. Quilter Plc's holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $521,399,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 27,182.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,813,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $459,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806,529 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 98.6% in the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $334,394,000 after acquiring an additional 708,432 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $79,980,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $263.60 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $257.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.05. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69. 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 cap of $74.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.13.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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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