12,118 Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 44.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,118 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up approximately 1.3% of Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Vancity Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 64.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $304.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The firm has a market cap of $85.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.45, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $282.90 and its 200 day moving average is $276.45.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.58.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.