Bokf Na Trims Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Bokf Na cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 785 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Motco purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the 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 directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $250.67 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $243.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.72. The company has a market cap of $71.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.42, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $253.54. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.67.

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.