Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.73.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

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

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $251.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a PE ratio of 46.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $244.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.67. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $253.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

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.