Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,635,000 after acquiring an additional 37,167 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $749,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 526.2% in the fourth quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,298,000 after acquiring an additional 47,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ECL traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $245.24. The company had a trading volume of 848,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,611. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.41, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.54. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $248.60.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.06.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.