Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Chemung Canal Trust Co.

Chemung Canal Trust Co. decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,636 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 210.3% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 107,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,355,000 after buying an additional 72,614 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Ecolab by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 51,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,172,000 after buying an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 89,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,867,000 after buying an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Finally, IMPACTfolio LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $249.64. The stock had a trading volume of 79,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,104,158. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $256.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.71. The firm has a market cap of $71.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Six 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.29.

Ecolab 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.