Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 890 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,930 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.80.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $253.49 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The stock has a market cap of $72.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $252.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.03.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab 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.