Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.4 %

Ecolab stock opened at $254.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $255.29.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The business 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%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.