Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 210.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,614 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $27,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in 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 period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 42.1% in the 2nd 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 lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the 2nd 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 increased its position in Ecolab by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.29.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $250.77 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $246.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.71. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab 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 transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.