Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Has $811,000 Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $253.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $243.82 and its 200-day moving average is $235.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $253.57. The firm has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 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 firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.73.

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.