Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Somerset Group LLC

Somerset Group LLC grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,491 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Somerset Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $248.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $244.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.56. The firm has a market cap of $71.00 billion, a PE ratio of 46.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $253.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ECL. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.73.

Ecolab Company 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.