Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 128 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Motco bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. 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 bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.67.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $250.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.40, a PEG ratio of 2.52 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $253.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.93.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

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.