World Investment Advisors Has $4.67 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,404 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $271.74. 868,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,354. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $220.96 and a one year high of $279.56. The company has a market capitalization of $77.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $261.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.47.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.