Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $170.11 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 714,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,721 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.25% of Ecolab worth $170,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $251.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $244.33 and its 200-day moving average is $235.85. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $253.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities research 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.