OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,031 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 15.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,651 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,031 shares during the quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $39,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $61,073,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.47.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ECL stock traded down $2.78 on Tuesday, hitting $269.00. 1,335,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,351,783. 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 market capitalization of $76.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $262.27 and a 200 day moving average of $252.50. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.