Xponance Inc. Purchases 2,323 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 42.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 758,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $150,563,000 after purchasing an additional 60,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.21.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $254.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $244.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.24. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $255.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $72.80 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Ecolab’s 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.