Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Trimmed by Farmers National Bank

Farmers National Bank lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 453 shares during the period. Farmers National Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $749,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $253.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $245.81 and its 200-day moving average is $237.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.29.

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.