Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Holdings Cut by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lessened its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 11,164 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Ecolab were worth $27,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $1.55 on Wednesday, reaching $245.50. 966,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,480. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company's 50-day moving average is $250.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.70. The firm has a market cap of $69.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.37 and a 1-year high of $262.61.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is a positive change 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 36.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $279.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.