iA Global Asset Management Inc. Buys 1,715 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 31.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,420,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,178,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,598,240,000 after acquiring an additional 305,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Ecolab by 1,133.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 232,282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of 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 available at the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $253.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $241.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $253.54.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.00.

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.