Wealthspire Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 422 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $365,420,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $326,626,000 after buying an additional 24,648 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.67.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1 %

Ecolab stock opened at $250.54 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $253.54. The company has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a PE ratio of 46.40, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $243.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

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.