Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 28.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 33,925 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Ecolab were worth $20,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $264.16. 1,035,813 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,168,429. The company has a market cap of $74.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $220.96 and a one year high of $273.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $247.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.44.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.