Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Decreases Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lessened its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 324,890 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 18,841 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises about 1.8% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA owned about 0.11% of Ecolab worth $80,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded down $7.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $263.81. 1,221,133 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,174,711. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $252.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.13.

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.