LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.67.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $249.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a PE ratio of 46.15, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $242.50 and a 200 day moving average of $234.31. 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 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $253.54.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

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.