Meeder Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its position in Ecolab Inc. by 1,657.9% in Q1, now holding 72,478 shares worth approximately $18.37 million.
• A majority of hedge funds own around 74.91% of Ecolab's stock, with several investors increasing their positions during the past quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Ecolab show a consensus of Moderate Buy, with a current average price target of $288.33.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1,657.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,478 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 68,355 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises approximately 1.2% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,231,873,000 after buying an additional 91,475 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,744,000 after purchasing an additional 200,612 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after purchasing an additional 514,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $701,438,000 after purchasing an additional 165,949 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $270.09 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $266.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.70, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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