WASHINGTON TRUST Co Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $4.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $241.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 580,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,180. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $249.00. The stock has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17, a PEG 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.38.

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.