Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 61.7% in the first quarter, holding 138,881 shares valued at approximately $35.21 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Nemes Rush Group LLC and University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co., increased their holdings in Ecolab during the same period, reflecting positive sentiment towards the company.
• Following recent analyst updates, Ecolab holds an average "Buy" rating with a consensus price target of $290.71, indicating confidence in its market performance.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 61.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,881 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 223,283 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $35,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Ecolab by 2.3% during the first 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 buying an additional 93,409 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 6.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Ecolab by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after acquiring an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $701,438,000 after buying an additional 165,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 12,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target 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, twelve have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $290.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $3.05 during trading on Monday, hitting $264.06. The stock had a trading volume of 716,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,174. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $266.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.73. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $274.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

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.