Quarry LP Boosts Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Quarry LP raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4,154.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,127 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Quarry LP's holdings in Ecolab were worth $498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 796,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $203,285,000 after buying an additional 69,142 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 276.3% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 9,462 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $9,830,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Ecolab by 797.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Ecolab by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 56,276 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,368,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.47.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $5.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $252.05. 2,042,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,153,752. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $249.25 and its 200 day moving average is $247.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company 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 firm's 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 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ecolab

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.