Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Thrive Wealth Management LLC

Thrive Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,423,116,000 after buying an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,851,000 after purchasing an additional 122,715 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during 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. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $326,626,000 after purchasing an additional 24,648 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $0.25 on Friday, reaching $251.02. 656,227 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,107,165. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $256.59. The company has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Six 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.29.

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.