Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC Has $7.19 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,359 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,311 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up approximately 1.0% of Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,204,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Ecolab by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,383 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,963 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.39 on Thursday, hitting $266.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 953,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,627. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $274.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $263.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on 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 issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $287.00.

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.