Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,874 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $31,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $251.02. The company had a trading volume of 656,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,165. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $256.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $246.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.29.

Ecolab 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.