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

Rockland Trust Co. lessened its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 53,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Ecolab by 295.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,317,000 after acquiring an additional 591,040 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,598,240,000 after acquiring an additional 305,039 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 136.0% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,467,000 after purchasing an additional 206,973 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $250.77 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $256.59. The company has a market cap of $71.61 billion, a PE ratio of 46.44, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $246.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.71.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.