Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Holdings Lifted by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,272 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $247.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $191.53 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.87.

Ecolab 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.