Arvest Trust Co. N A Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Arvest Trust Co. N A lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,554 shares during the quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $365,420,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $390,687,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,598,240,000 after purchasing an additional 305,039 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 136.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,467,000 after buying an additional 206,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Ecolab by 65.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 474,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,583,000 after buying an additional 188,455 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $253.25 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $253.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $243.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.29. The company has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.90, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Ecolab Company 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.