Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Northwest Investment Counselors LLC

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises about 1.0% of Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Ecolab by 5.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,851,000 after acquiring an additional 122,715 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,149,000 after acquiring an additional 43,553 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $326,626,000 after purchasing an additional 24,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ECL. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.80.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related 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 sale, the director now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ECL traded down $2.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $259.25. The stock had a trading volume of 262,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,084,485. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $74.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $250.32 and its 200 day moving average is $239.91. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.