Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 106,030 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 833,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 106,030 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.29% of Ecolab worth $210,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $280.49 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $282.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $268.71 and its 200 day moving average is $259.02. The company has a market cap of $79.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.45, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 price target (up previously from $293.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.21.

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.