Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Gregory B. Cook Sells 3,811 Shares

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $253.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.89, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $253.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $232.79.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Motco bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

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.