Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Buys 232 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 84.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,098,000 after acquiring an additional 6,137 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 50.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,895,000 after buying an additional 3,393 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,194,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Ecolab by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 283,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,653,000 after acquiring an additional 24,910 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $256.19 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $252.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.03. The stock has a market cap of $72.90 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $157.59 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.80.

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.