Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 43.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,480 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc increased its position in Ecolab by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.2% during the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $253.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $243.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a PE ratio of 46.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. 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.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value 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. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ECL. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Six 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, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.73.

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.