Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Buffington Mohr McNeal

Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for approximately 1.3% of Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,635,000 after buying an additional 37,167 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,129,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $749,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership grew its stake in Ecolab by 526.2% in the fourth quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,298,000 after purchasing an additional 47,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 12.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 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, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related 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 transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of 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. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $235.65. The stock had a trading volume of 922,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,029. The company has a 50-day moving average of $234.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $67.29 billion, a PE ratio of 43.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $245.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

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.