Biltmore Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,198 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Biltmore Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 210.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 107,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,355,000 after acquiring an additional 72,614 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 51,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 89,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMPACTfolio LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $251.02. 656,250 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,107,165. The stock has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.