Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Acquired by Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,118 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for approximately 1.3% of Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% during the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 64.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock opened at $304.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $85.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $282.90 and a 200-day moving average of $276.45. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $310.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 39.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ECL. Zacks Research upgraded Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.