Kintegral Advisory LLC Reduces Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Kintegral Advisory LLC cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 32.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,227 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,468 shares during the quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.47.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $271.74. 868,074 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,180,354. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $279.56. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $261.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.27. The firm has a market cap of $77.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 2.68 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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.33%.

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.