Edgestream Partners L.P. Boosts Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 98.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $268.44. The stock had a trading volume of 218,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,323,900. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $274.17. The stock has a market cap of $76.14 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 2.62 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $264.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $253.90.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.33.

Ecolab Company 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.