Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,564,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of ECL opened at $267.89 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.85. The company has a market capitalization of $75.98 billion, a PE ratio of 36.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

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.