AMF Tjanstepension AB Cuts Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

AMF Tjanstepension AB trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 41.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 42,462 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,635,000 after acquiring an additional 37,167 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,129,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $749,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Ecolab by 526.2% in the 4th quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,298,000 after acquiring an additional 47,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $238.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.07, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $245.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $233.72 and a 200 day moving average of $219.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% 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.