Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,918 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $219.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $62.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $223.64 and its 200-day moving average is $200.29. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $231.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $238.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.47.

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.