Arkadios Wealth Advisors Purchases Shares of 4,537 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased 4,537 shares of Ecolab Inc. for approximately $1.15 million in the first quarter, reflecting increased interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Ecolab Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares at $251.75 each, raising his holdings to 19,465 shares valued at about $4.9 million.
• Analysts have recently updated their ratings on Ecolab, with several upgrades and a consensus "buy" rating, as well as price targets ranging from $290.71 to $315.00.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,537 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,150,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $501,000. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 17,361 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,068,000 after buying an additional 4,475 shares during the period. Finally, Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 870 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $3.05 during trading on Monday, hitting $264.06. 716,935 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,185,174. The business's 50 day moving average is $266.76 and its 200-day moving average is $256.73. The company has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $290.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.