LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Acquires 250 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,467,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

ECL stock opened at $273.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $77.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.94. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $274.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 34.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.71.

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.