Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Geneva Capital Management LLC

Geneva Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2,042.9% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $244.50. 985,334 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,167,149. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $245.93. The firm has a market cap of $69.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.11.

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. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. 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.