KCM Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,793 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

KCM Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,793 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Ecolab by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,670,000 after acquiring an additional 68,062 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after acquiring an additional 6,238 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,167.3% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,571,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $271.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.32 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.19.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.