IMS Capital Management Lowers Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

IMS Capital Management cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,331 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ECL. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% during the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.2% during the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Six 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.29.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $255.33 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $256.59. The company has a market cap of $72.91 billion, a PE ratio of 47.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.32.

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. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’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 approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.