Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 558,947 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 79.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 558,947 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.44% of Ecolab worth $319,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 4,145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 20.2% during the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 298 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $267.09. 966,348 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,180,551. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $274.17. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $263.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.10. 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 company has a market cap of $75.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ECL. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $287.00.

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.