Sawyer & Company Inc Sells 653 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Sawyer & Company Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 653 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for approximately 1.3% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of 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 worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.07.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ECL

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $254.00. 726,469 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,096,758. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $247.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.82. The firm has a market cap of $72.27 billion, a PE ratio of 42.62, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $258.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 38.26%.

About Ecolab

(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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