Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Affiance Financial LLC

Affiance Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Affiance Financial LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $239.98. The company had a trading volume of 32,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,440. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $245.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $68.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.67.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

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.