Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 656 shares during the quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,569,000 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 the business. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 16,041 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $221.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.21 billion, a PE ratio of 46.16, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.10. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $231.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $238.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.47.

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.