Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 867 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 84.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,098,000 after purchasing an additional 6,137 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 50.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $1,194,000. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its position in Ecolab by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 30,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,953,000 after acquiring an additional 9,601 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ECL shares. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.07.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $256.44 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.05. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $258.00. The company has a market cap of $73.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.49, 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.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab 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 purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents 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 corporate insiders.

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.