Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Hemenway Trust Co LLC

Hemenway Trust Co LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,598,240,000 after acquiring an additional 305,039 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,264,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,215,000 after buying an additional 91,547 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,855,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,965,000 after buying an additional 155,151 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $365,420,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,343,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $266,392,000 after buying an additional 18,687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $244.50. 985,334 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,167,149. The company has a market cap of $69.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.41. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $245.93.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.44.

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.