Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $251.44 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $253.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $244.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.85. 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 company has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now 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 company insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.