Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Cuts Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,140 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at approximately $390,687,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,578,000 after purchasing an additional 735,934 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Ecolab by 295.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 580.7% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.0 %

Ecolab stock traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $256.23. 75,049 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,921. 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 twelve month low of $159.15 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company has a market cap of $72.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $252.58 and a 200-day moving average of $241.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors 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 payout ratio is 38.26%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.40.

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.