Webster Bank N. A. Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Webster Bank N. A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $254.00. The company had a trading volume of 726,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,096,758. The company’s fifty day moving average is $247.88 and its 200 day moving average is $238.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $258.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.27 billion, a PE ratio of 42.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 38.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This 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 owned by insiders.

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.