Prudential PLC Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Prudential PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 107,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 972 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $27,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $290.71.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $273.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $77.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.06. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $274.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $267.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.94.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.