First Western Trust Bank Has $5.38 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• First Western Trust Bank reduced its stock holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 7.6% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 21,239 shares valued at approximately $5.38 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have made adjustments to their positions in Ecolab, with Vanguard Group Inc. increasing its stake by 1.1% to hold over 24 million shares worth more than $6 billion.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, reflecting a 1.0% yield based on its current stock price.

First Western Trust Bank lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,239 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,748 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,237,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,775 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 8,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,091 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $3.06 on Friday, reaching $272.83. 833,178 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,136,417. The firm's 50 day moving average is $267.21 and its 200-day moving average is $257.72. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $274.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $77.38 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.71.

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.