Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Sells 48 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Motco bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, 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 value of $950,196.63. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.67.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $245.05 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $253.54. The firm has a market cap of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $242.22 and a 200-day moving average of $233.98.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

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.