Barclays PLC Buys 69,142 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 796,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,142 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.28% of Ecolab worth $203,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $2.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $247.13. 1,295,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,984. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $250.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.61. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $191.53 and a one year high of $262.61. The company has a market cap of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.87.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab 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.