Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $266.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $256.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ECL. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Ecolab 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.