Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 63.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,483 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ecolab from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.86.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $177.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.29, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.01. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.04 and a 12-month high of $191.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 7.96% and a return on equity of 18.33%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 5.08 EPS 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 $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 51.58%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $183.73 per share, for a total transaction of $119,424.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,768,994.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.