Beck Bode LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Beck Bode LLC reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Beck Bode LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE ECL opened at $250.46 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $243.99 and its 200 day moving average is $235.47. The company has a market cap of $71.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $253.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

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.