Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC Has $295,000 Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 62.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 101,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,834,000 after acquiring an additional 39,155 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 6,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 6.5% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,324,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley & Associates grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 4,857 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $233.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 351,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,490. The company has a market cap of $66.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.21, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.50. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $234.68.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler started coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.88.

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.