Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 89,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,166 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $22,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $255.80 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $256.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.79 billion, a PE ratio of 42.92, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.44.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.07.

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.