Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Everett Harris & Co. CA

Everett Harris & Co. CA lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 74,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Ecolab by 2.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 198,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,628,000 after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 144.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.80.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.7 %

Ecolab stock traded up $4.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $261.46. 1,017,240 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,088,555. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $250.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.74. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.42, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

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.