Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its stake in Ecolab by 47.8% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth $247,000. Transform Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.4% during the first quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.7% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 40,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,468,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 10.9% during the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Mizuho raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $1.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $238.00. 1,806,035 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,213,723. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $233.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.27. The company has a market cap of $67.97 billion, a PE ratio of 44.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $245.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by 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.