6,516 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Acquired by Mattson Financial Services LLC

Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,551,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.29.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

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

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

ECL stock opened at $253.97 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $256.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $245.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.62. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $72.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.03, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Ecolab 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.