Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 4,665 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,665 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 owns 24,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 834,959 shares of company stock worth $205,323,667 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $250.34. The company had a trading volume of 931,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,985. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $189.58 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.50.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. This is a positive change from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.98%.

About Ecolab

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.