Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $114.19 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Ecolab by 1.2%, now owning about 450,646 shares valued at $114.19 million.
• Ecolab missed earnings expectations with reported EPS of $1.89, slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.90, despite generating revenues of $4.03 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a record date of September 16th, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 450,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,474 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.16% of Ecolab worth $114,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% during the first quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% during the first quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.1% in the first quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,467,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.21.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

Ecolab stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $280.85. 1,250,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,312,470. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $281.96. The firm has a market cap of $79.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $268.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $258.47.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

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.