Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Sells 18,841 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 18,841 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises 1.8% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA owned about 0.11% of Ecolab worth $80,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $267.89 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $250.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.85. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $75.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.33%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lowered 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. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Company 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.