NewEdge Advisors LLC Has $4.80 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

NewEdge Advisors LLC cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 18.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,169 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,645 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.29.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $253.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.92, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $256.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50.

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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.