Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $50,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.80.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $259.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $250.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.15. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $262.61.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.