Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by EULAV Asset Management

EULAV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 29.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $521,399,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 27,182.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,813,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $459,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806,529 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% in the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $334,394,000 after purchasing an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 79.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $319,641,000 after purchasing an additional 558,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after purchasing an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $2.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $271.74. The stock had a trading volume of 868,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,353. The company has a market cap of $77.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50-day moving average price is $261.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.27. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $279.56. 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 (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.47.

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.