Gradient Investments LLC Has $14.46 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 60,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,744 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Motco acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $240.66. 816,703 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,082. The firm has a market cap of $68.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $240.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $249.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ECL shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.00.

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.