Quest Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Quest Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,695 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises about 1.8% of Quest Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Quest Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $15,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped 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. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.21.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $251.44 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $253.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $244.33 and its 200 day moving average is $235.94. 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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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