Klingman & Associates LLC Sells 1,477 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Klingman & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 54.0%, selling 1,477 shares and holding 1,260 shares worth approximately $319,000 as of the most recent SEC filing.
• Brokerage ratings on Ecolab have varied, with Stifel Nicolaus lowering its price target from $307.00 to $303.00 while UBS Group upgraded the stock to a "buy" rating.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, payable on October 15th, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 34.71%.

Klingman & Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 54.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,477 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% during the first quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,876,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% during the first quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,551,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,414,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,467,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

ECL traded up $0.87 on Friday, hitting $280.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,250,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,181,101. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $281.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.