Veriti Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,404 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Veriti Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the second quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 39,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,041,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Bell Bank boosted its stake in Ecolab by 14.1% during the second quarter. Bell Bank now owns 6,189 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% during the second quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 7,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,099,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.8% during the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 43,178 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,639,000 after buying an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gofen & Glossberg LLC IL boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% during the second quarter. Gofen & Glossberg LLC IL now owns 204,595 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,459,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. 87.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.6 %

ECL opened at $144.03 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.34 and a fifty-two week high of $238.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.59 and a 200-day moving average of $165.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $41.05 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.01.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 20th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 19th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 53.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $193.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ecolab to $198.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Friday, June 3rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $191.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.06.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.74, for a total value of $533,568.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,756,652.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III purchased 149,190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $171.47 per share, with a total value of $25,581,609.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,834,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,287,233,553.68. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 3,200 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.74, for a total value of $533,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,530 shares in the company, valued at $3,756,652.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 274,284 shares of company stock valued at $47,244,385. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

About Ecolab

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Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. 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.

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