Syon Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Syon Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $246,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $239.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.19 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $251.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.21. The stock has a market cap of $68.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.51, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 target price on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.