Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 284,844 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,276 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $67,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $365,420,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at about $390,687,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $91,178,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,598,240,000 after acquiring an additional 305,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1,133.0% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,368,000 after purchasing an additional 232,282 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $3.09 on Friday, hitting $253.18. 1,448,479 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,134,807. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $253.54. The company has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a PE ratio of 46.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $241.32 and its 200 day moving average is $232.44.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Seven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.00.

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.