Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Asset Dedication LLC

Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2,188.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $257.07 on Friday. 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 $73.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $261.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $249.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.51.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ECL. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.07.

About Ecolab

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.