Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 7,741 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 555,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,741 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.20% of Ecolab worth $152,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $20,424,000. Stevens Capital Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $269,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 3.5% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 659,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $181,013,000 after purchasing an additional 22,263 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 11,180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 29,375 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,066,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $302.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.93 billion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.85. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $282.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.14.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.58.

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.