Barings LLC Sells 5,396 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Barings LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 21.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,396 shares during the period. Barings LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.71.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $260.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $274.17. The company has a market capitalization of $73.97 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $266.76 and its 200-day moving average is $256.47.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.