Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Boosted by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,012,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $270,000. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 2,464 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Ecolab by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,855,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,965,000 after purchasing an additional 155,151 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $249.61 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $241.07 and a 200-day moving average of $232.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.22, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $250.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

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.