Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were 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 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 Up 1.4 %

ECL stock opened at $254.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $244.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.24. 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 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $255.29. The firm has a market cap of $72.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.21, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.21.

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.