Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Position Lowered by Geneva Capital Management LLC

Geneva Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 441 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $233.51. 109,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,195,471. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $66.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $234.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.71.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.88.

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.