Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 1.1%, acquiring an additional 261,489 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 24.4 million shares valued at $6.19 billion.
• Official reports show that Ecolab's recent quarterly earnings missed analysts' expectations, reporting an EPS of $1.89 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90.
• Research analysts have given Ecolab favorable ratings, with a majority moving the stock to a "buy" or "strong buy" rating, and setting an average price target of $290.71.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 261,489 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.61% of Ecolab worth $6,188,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $290.71.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $3.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $272.83. 833,178 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,143,075. The company's fifty day moving average price is $267.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

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.