Prio Wealth Limited Partnership Sells 4,549 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,549 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $21,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ECL. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.29.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased 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 owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $253.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.92, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.51. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $256.59.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.