Sky Investment Group LLC Reduces Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Sky Investment Group LLC lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $390,687,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after acquiring an additional 304,402 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,248,000 after buying an additional 258,971 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 136.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,467,000 after acquiring an additional 206,973 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $257.26. The stock had a trading volume of 196,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,081,278. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.15.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid 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 is currently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, 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 value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s 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 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.