Gradient Investments LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,744 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 6.9% during the second quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.2% during the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 5,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 47.2% during the second quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $0.72 on Friday, hitting $240.66. 816,703 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,082. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.44 and a 200 day moving average of $229.54. The stock has a market cap of $68.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $249.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ECL. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.