Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $1.30 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2,042.9% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $238.00 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $245.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $233.72 and its 200 day moving average is $219.60. The firm has a market cap of $67.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.07, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Mizuho raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.