Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Acquires 3,294 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 25.3%, acquiring an additional 3,294 shares, resulting in total holdings valued at $4,139,000.
• Ecolab's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.89, slightly missing expectations of $1.90, while revenue met projections at $4.03 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 34.71%.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 25.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,298 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,294 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 6.6% in the first quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,876,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Mirabaud & Cie SA raised its position in Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 19.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,467,000 after purchasing an additional 19,431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $269.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $76.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $267.07 and a 200 day moving average of $257.29. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group upgraded Ecolab from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $290.71.

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.

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