Van Strum & Towne Inc. Has $8.64 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 729 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for about 2.9% of Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL traded down $0.31 on Monday, hitting $268.44. The company had a trading volume of 35,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,815. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $264.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.44. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $274.17.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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. 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.