Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,874 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $31,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $319,000. Biltmore Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $561,000. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 210.3% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 107,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,355,000 after purchasing an additional 72,614 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.29.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1 %

Ecolab stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $251.02. 656,250 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,107,165. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.95. The company has a market capitalization of $71.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.49, 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. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly 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 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company 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 0.91%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.