Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,055 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,012 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 18.1% during the first quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 29,746 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,541,000 after purchasing an additional 4,558 shares during the period. LBP AM SA lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 308.2% during the first quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 116,885 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,633,000 after purchasing an additional 88,250 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 14,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 283,748 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $69,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 30.5% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5%

ECL traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $266.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 953,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,627. The firm has a market cap of $75.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $274.17. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $263.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $287.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by 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.