Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,326 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,339 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought 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. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 3.8%

Ecolab stock traded down $10.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $259.74. 2,264,825 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 997,161. The company has a market cap of $73.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.96 and a twelve month high of $274.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $266.73 and a 200-day moving average of $256.02.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Five investment 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.33.

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.