Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Reduced by Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc

Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ECL opened at $267.29 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $249.56 and its 200-day moving average is $249.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The firm has a market cap of $75.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Ecolab’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Mizuho dropped their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company 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.