Trium Capital LLP Cuts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Trium Capital LLP lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 45.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,954 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 0.5% of Trium Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Trium Capital LLP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $365,420,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $390,687,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,598,240,000 after buying an additional 305,039 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1,133.0% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,368,000 after buying an additional 232,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 136.0% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,467,000 after acquiring an additional 206,973 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $245.05 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.38, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $253.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $242.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.10. 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 issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.67.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.