LPL Financial LLC Increases Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 10.8%, now owning approximately 227,686 shares valued at over $57 million.
• Ecolab recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.89, slightly missing analyst expectations, while achieving a revenue of $4.03 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 34.71%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 227,686 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 22,209 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Ecolab worth $57,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,744,000 after buying an additional 200,612 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Ecolab by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after buying an additional 514,944 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $701,438,000 after acquiring an additional 165,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,517,118 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $589,811,000 after acquiring an additional 12,911 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $261.75 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $274.17. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $266.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $74.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a PEG ratio of 2.82 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 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $290.71.

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.

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