IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys 5,256 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,530 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,256 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4,840.0% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $231,000. Transform Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 7.1% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $256.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $73.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.49. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition 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 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.