Harfst & Associates Inc. Has $203,000 Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Harfst & Associates Inc. lessened its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 35.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 795 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 440 shares during the quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Ecolab by 2.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 198,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,628,000 after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 144.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 21.1% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 28.5% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $4.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $261.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,017,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,088,555. The company has a market capitalization of $74.67 billion, a PE ratio of 48.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $250.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.74. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.80.

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.