Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $261.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.67 billion, a PE ratio of 48.42, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $250.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company 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 company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease 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 David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.80.

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.