Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,439,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,089 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.51% of Ecolab worth $394,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its holdings in Ecolab by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd raised its position in Ecolab by 4.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.7% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% in the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at $18,989,868.04. This represents a 23.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $282.59 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $269.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.83. The stock has a market cap of $80.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 target price on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.33.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.