Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 525 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $251.44 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $244.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $253.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.21.

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.