Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,726 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Team Hewins LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 20,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,104,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 249,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,462,000 after acquiring an additional 19,489 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following 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. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.21.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1 %

ECL opened at $251.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $253.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $244.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.94. The firm has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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. 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.