HB Wealth Management LLC Has $6.02 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 235.6%, acquiring an additional 16,655 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 23,724 shares valued at approximately $6,015,000.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Ecolab, with Citigroup setting a new target of $325.00, reflecting strong sentiment in the market as the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Ecolab recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a current annualized dividend yield of 0.96%, which indicates a solid return to shareholders amidst a competitive market environment.

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 235.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,724 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,655 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marietta Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $225,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its position in Ecolab by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 9,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,414,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $464,000. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the first quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 55,732 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,282,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,839 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,776,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $290.13.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE ECL traded up $5.04 on Wednesday, hitting $264.43. 645,649 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,327,255. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $274.17. The company's 50 day moving average price is $266.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.