Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Tyche Wealth Partners LLC

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,961 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $1.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $255.18. 320,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,229. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $252.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $72.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.03, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.59 and a 1 year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given 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 yield of 0.89%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 38.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.