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

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,359 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,311 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for approximately 1.0% of Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE ECL traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $267.64. The stock had a trading volume of 419,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,177,680. The company has a market capitalization of $75.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $263.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.92. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $274.17.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased 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 owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. Mizuho decreased their price target on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.