Czech National Bank Purchases 3,155 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 51,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.6% in the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 42.1% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.2% during the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.29.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $251.02. The company had a trading volume of 656,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,165. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $246.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.87. The company has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.