OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Raises Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 199.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 434,598 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 289,556 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd owned approximately 0.15% of Ecolab worth $110,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $267.09 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $274.17. The company has a market cap of $75.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $263.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.32.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $287.00.

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.

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