Linscomb Wealth Inc. Boosts Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 70.6% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $290.71.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $272.83 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $274.17. The stock has a market cap of $77.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $267.21 and its 200 day moving average is $257.72. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 34.71%.

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.