Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 694,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,617 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.24% of Ecolab worth $160,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 2,805.1% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,635,000 after buying an additional 37,167 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $749,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 526.2% in the fourth quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,298,000 after buying an additional 47,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.56.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.60 on Wednesday, reaching $236.25. The company had a trading volume of 110,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,163,672. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $67.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.84, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $234.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $245.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

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.