PFG Investments LLC Has $945,000 Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,420,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $390,687,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,598,240,000 after buying an additional 305,039 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 136.0% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,467,000 after purchasing an additional 206,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 474,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $109,583,000 after purchasing an additional 188,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

ECL opened at $250.79 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $242.80 and a 200 day moving average of $234.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $253.54. The company has a market cap of $71.62 billion, a PE ratio of 46.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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.

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.