Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 1,431 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,431 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $15,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

Ecolab stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $220.33. 347,567 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,201,503. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $231.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $223.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $200.29.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $216.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.47.

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.