Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,654 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,200 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $23,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $763,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,734 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,989,000 after buying an additional 6,086 shares during the period. Aries Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 18.7% in the first quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 1,549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,559 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,189 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock traded down $3.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $261.88. The company had a trading volume of 102,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,096. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.28 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $253.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.28. 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.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently 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.