Allworth Financial LP Raises Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $253.76 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $252.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.59 and a 1 year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 38.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ECL. 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 report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.80.

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.