1,028 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Purchased by Bridgewater Advisors Inc.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised 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 during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.33.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5%

ECL stock opened at $269.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.96 and a twelve month high of $274.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $264.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.90. The stock has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.56, a PEG ratio of 2.62 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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.