Forbes J M & Co. LLP Raises Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Forbes J M & Co. LLP raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,191 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP's holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 15.6% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,467,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $3,257,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 20.1% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 7.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,152 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,813,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE ECL opened at $270.51 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $264.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.44. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.96 and a twelve month high of $274.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $76.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.75, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

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.

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