Bailard Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Bailard Inc. increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 19,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,237,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $830,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,512,000 after buying an additional 15,022 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $220.74. 297,929 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,193,523. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $231.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $223.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James upped their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven 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 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.