Czech National Bank Has $13.17 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $251.02. The stock had a trading volume of 656,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,165. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $256.59. The stock has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a PE ratio of 46.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’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 owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.29.

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.