Amalgamated Bank Sells 594 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,861 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 594 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.73.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $248.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $253.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $244.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.56.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its 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 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 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 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.