Amalgamated Bank Sells 594 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,861 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 594 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.73.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $248.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.09 and a 200 day moving average of $235.56. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $253.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

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.