Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 1,061 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,519 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $27,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 23,885 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 7,464 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,860 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $268.99. 352,195 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,318,015. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $274.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $266.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.33.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab 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.