Chicago Capital LLC Has $2.35 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.80.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.7 %

Ecolab stock opened at $261.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $250.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.83. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

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. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

About Ecolab

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.