Mcdaniel Terry & Co. Reduces Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Mcdaniel Terry & Co. reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,515 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,087 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up about 3.7% of Mcdaniel Terry & Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Ecolab worth $42,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE ECL traded up $4.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $267.55. The stock had a trading volume of 4,155,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,281. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $220.96 and a one year high of $273.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03. 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 (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. 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 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.13.

Ecolab 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.