Logan Capital Management Inc. Has $1.18 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Logan Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 65.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,397 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robbins Farley purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $182.06 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.04 and a 52-week high of $191.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $184.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.22.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ECL. StockNews.com cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Ecolab in a report on Friday, September 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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 given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.86.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Angela M. Busch sold 3,460 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $629,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,581,760. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Angela M. Busch sold 3,460 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $629,720.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,760. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 21,708 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.67, for a total value of $3,943,692.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,442 shares in the company, valued at $2,260,338.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,568 shares of company stock valued at $5,008,604 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.