Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Palumbo Wealth Management LLC

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in Ecolab by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 37,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,822,000 after buying an additional 5,189 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $895,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in Ecolab by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 104,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,405,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Finally, BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $3,257,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $266.07 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.47 billion, a PE ratio of 36.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.