KBC Group NV Buys 34,812 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 495,016 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,812 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.17% of Ecolab worth $125,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $3.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $272.57. 1,056,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,183,012. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.53. The company has a market capitalization of $77.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

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.