Sienna Gestion Sells 50 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Sienna Gestion lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $280.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $281.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $268.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $258.47. The company has a market capitalization of $79.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.39, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.21.

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.