LGT Group Foundation Has $3.58 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

LGT Group Foundation grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 911 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Motco acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ECL. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.67.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $249.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a PE ratio of 46.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $253.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.31.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given 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 (DPR) is 42.22%.

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.