Gradient Investments LLC Buys 8,001 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,001 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

ECL stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $267.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 306,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,807. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $75.90 billion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $249.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.04.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. 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.