Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,110 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,423,116,000 after acquiring an additional 304,402 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,264,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $449,215,000 after acquiring an additional 91,547 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Ecolab by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,855,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,965,000 after buying an additional 155,151 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $365,420,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,343,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $266,392,000 after buying an additional 18,687 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL traded up $1.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $230.69. 1,802,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,156,679. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $249.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $239.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $65.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.13.

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.