Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,995 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $15,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth 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 bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $250.54 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $243.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $253.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.40, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors 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 yield of 0.91%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.67.

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.