Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH cut its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 60.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 39,860 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH's holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $795,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,202 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 101,001 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho dropped their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded down $2.70 on Monday, hitting $262.92. The company had a trading volume of 261,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,967. The firm has a market cap of $74.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $248.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.96 and a twelve month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

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.