Cavalier Investments LLC Acquires 207 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Cavalier Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Cavalier Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.80.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.1 %

Ecolab stock opened at $253.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.03. The company has a market cap of $72.13 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 38.26%.

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.