Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Position Decreased by M&G Plc

M&G Plc cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 166,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,835 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $39,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Motco acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:ECL traded up $4.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $241.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,143,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $68.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $249.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $240.30 and its 200-day moving average is $228.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.38.

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.