Sunbelt Securities Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.29.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $250.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $246.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.71. The firm has a market cap of $71.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.44, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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 firm 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 company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’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 value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 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 insiders.

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.