First Western Trust Bank Trims Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

First Western Trust Bank cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,701 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 0.3% of First Western Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $749,000. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 84.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,098,000 after acquiring an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 527.9% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 87,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,438,000 after acquiring an additional 73,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Ecolab by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,128,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $223,933,000 after purchasing an additional 62,434 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of 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 report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.67.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $246.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. 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 $70.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $242.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.65.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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 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.