Raiffeisen Bank International AG Has $80.69 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 5.2%, now holding 323,403 shares valued at approximately $80.7 million.
• The recent insider transaction saw Director David Maclennan acquiring 500 shares of Ecolab at an average price of $251.75 per share, increasing his holdings by 2.64%.
• Ecolab reported a quarterly EPS of $1.89, falling short of the expected $1.90, while its stock currently has a market capitalization of $73.97 billion.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,403 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 17,632 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for approximately 1.3% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned about 0.11% of Ecolab worth $80,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 70.6% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4%

ECL stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $265.41. 240,169 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,320,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $75.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $266.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $290.71.

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.