Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Reduced by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 39.2%, owning 41,380 shares worth approximately $10.49 million after selling 26,668 shares.
• Ecolab recently reported earnings of $1.89 EPS, slightly missing analysts' expectations, and had a quarterly revenue of $4.03 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing a dividend yield of 1.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 34.71%.

ING Groep NV lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 39.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,380 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 26,668 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,036,485,000 after acquiring an additional 93,409 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Ecolab by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $831,744,000 after purchasing an additional 200,612 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Ecolab by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $733,201,000 after purchasing an additional 514,944 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $701,438,000 after purchasing an additional 165,949 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,517,118 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $589,811,000 after purchasing an additional 12,911 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.1%

ECL stock traded up $3.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $272.83. 833,178 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,316,519. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.29. The company has a market capitalization of $77.38 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.06. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $274.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $290.71.

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.