Essex Financial Services Inc. Raises Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 26.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 10.2% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Fortress Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fortress Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.7% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $19,754,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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 research 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.67.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $253.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.89, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $241.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.24. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $253.54.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

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.