Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $34.80 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,474 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Ecolab worth $34,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $215,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $27,417,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda lifted its position in Ecolab by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $243.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.48 billion, a PE ratio of 45.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.12. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $245.26. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $230.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.02.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Raymond James boosted their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.56.

Insider Activity

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