Eagle Ridge Investment Management Sells 111 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

by · The Markets Daily

Eagle Ridge Investment Management lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased 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 second quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE ECL opened at $256.38 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $262.61. 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 capitalization of $73.21 billion, a PE ratio of 47.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $251.48 and a 200 day moving average of $240.49.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last issued 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 during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.80.

Get Our Latest Report on Ecolab

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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