Segment Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $258.72 on Thursday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $251.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.49. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The company has a market cap of $73.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.91, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought 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 owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.80.

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.