VCI Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,345 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

VCI Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 39.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,231 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,345 shares during the quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth $3,890,000. PFG Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $230,000. Gries Financial LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 17,235 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,369,000 after buying an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.0% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 106,519 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,005,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $268.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 221,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,138. The firm has a market cap of $76.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $264.96 and its 200-day moving average is $254.44. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $274.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

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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