Security Asset Management Decreases Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Security Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,143 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 1.4% of Security Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Security Asset Management’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 25,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $181.40. 257,899 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,953. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $184.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $51.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.01. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.04 and a 1 year high of $191.41.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 7.96%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 18th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 51.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $183.73 per share, for a total transaction of $119,424.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,071 shares in the company, valued at $2,768,994.83. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $183.73 per share, for a total transaction of $119,424.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,768,994.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Angela M. Busch sold 3,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total value of $629,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,760. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,568 shares of company stock worth $5,008,604. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Ecolab from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ecolab from $177.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Ecolab in a report on Friday, September 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.60.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. 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.