Westfuller Advisors LLC Takes $259,000 Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,022 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $3.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $272.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,056,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,012. The firm's 50-day moving average is $259.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $251.53. The company has a market cap of $77.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.97. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 35.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.