Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Position Lifted by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $390,687,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during 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 raised its stake in Ecolab by 136.0% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,467,000 after acquiring an additional 206,973 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 65.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 474,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $109,583,000 after acquiring an additional 188,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Ecolab by 208.2% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 266,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,298,000 after acquiring an additional 180,212 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. 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 Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $254.92 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.24. The firm has a market cap of $72.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $255.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.21.

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.