Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $390,687,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,598,240,000 after purchasing an additional 305,039 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 136.0% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,467,000 after purchasing an additional 206,973 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $255.33 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $256.59. The stock has a market cap of $72.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.28, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $245.68 and a 200-day moving average of $237.32. 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 results 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. 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 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ECL. UBS Group cut their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.29.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab 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.