Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Lessened by Kintegral Advisory LLC

Kintegral Advisory LLC reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,616 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $249.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 715,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,135,826. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $250.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $241.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

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.