Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 6,385 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,385 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $31,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.43.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $254.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.15, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.02. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is 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.