Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 861,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,999 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.30% of Ecolab worth $205,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. 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 research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.73.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $250.46 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $243.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.47. The stock has a market cap of $71.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.38, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’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 owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company 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.