USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 7,049 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,337 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,049 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% in 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. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in 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. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:ECL traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $261.06. The company had a trading volume of 796,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,932. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The business's fifty day moving average is $247.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $74.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 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.