Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Has $9.11 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,915 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,120 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 164.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $80,564,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,739 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,713,000 after buying an additional 4,107 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,726 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $263.81 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $74.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average price is $252.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.16.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade 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 link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab 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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