Palumbo Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 817 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Palumbo Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,851,000 after purchasing an additional 122,715 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $326,626,000 after buying an additional 24,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $250.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 62,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,020. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $252.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.58. The company has a market capitalization of $71.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $159.15 and a 1 year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.

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.