Hemenway Trust Co LLC Decreases Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Hemenway Trust Co LLC lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,716 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $261.07 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $253.69 and a 200-day moving average of $250.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.