Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $84.30 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,834 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Ecolab worth $84,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the fourth 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 19,002 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $274.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $274.17. The business's 50 day moving average is $261.61 and its 200-day moving average is $252.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm'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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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