St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Acquires 305 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2 %

Ecolab stock opened at $240.68 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $245.93.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.56.

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.