Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Lifted by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 159.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 189,843 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 116,809 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.07% of Ecolab worth $42,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 42.1% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.43.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

Ecolab stock opened at $254.46 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $256.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.67 billion, a PE ratio of 47.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab 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 transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.