Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Daymark Wealth Partners LLC

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 11,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,331,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Ecolab by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 87,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,360,000 after purchasing an additional 6,633 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 40,533.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,756,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, 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. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.43.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $254.46 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $256.59. The firm has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a PE ratio of 47.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $245.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio 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.