Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Reduced by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,324 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,342 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st 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. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $266.89. 1,016,903 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,165,197. The stock's fifty day moving average is $255.77 and its 200 day moving average is $250.73. The stock has a market cap of $75.70 billion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 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. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued 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 currently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

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.