Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 890 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,930 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 890 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.80.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $253.49 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $72.13 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13.

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 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 business had revenue of $3.99 billion during 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. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 38.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 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, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s 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 purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.