Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by LS Investment Advisors LLC

LS Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,107 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,702 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up approximately 2.6% of LS Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,045 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Silverberg Bernstein Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 65.4% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 669.6% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,586 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ECL shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1%

ECL traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $267.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 606,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,356. The company has a market capitalization of $75.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $249.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, 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 will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

About Ecolab

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.