Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Position Lowered by Mission Wealth Management LP

Mission Wealth Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Motco purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.0 %

ECL opened at $238.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $235.32 and a 200-day moving average of $220.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $245.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.56.

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.