Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 3,706 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC divested 3,706 shares of Ecolab Inc., reducing its holding by 15.5% to a total of 20,179 shares, valued at approximately $5.1 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Ecolab's stock ratings, with Mizuho raising their price target from $285.00 to $305.00 and a consensus target price of $290.71 among other analyst reviews.
• Ecolab declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with the ex-dividend date set for September 16th, translating to an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,706 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Ecolab from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $290.71.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $272.83 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $274.17. The company has a market capitalization of $77.38 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $267.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

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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