Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is LS Investment Advisors LLC’s 8th Largest Position

LS Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for about 2.6% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Motco acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE ECL traded up $1.63 on Tuesday, hitting $248.70. 750,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,138,317. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $240.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.87. The company has a market capitalization of $71.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $249.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.