Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by First Pacific Financial

First Pacific Financial trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Robbins Farley acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Ecolab from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.19.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.6 %

ECL stock opened at $231.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $66.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.39, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $231.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $214.34 and a 200-day moving average of $193.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

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.