Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Lowers Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises about 1.9% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after buying an additional 304,402 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,851,000 after buying an additional 122,715 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,149,000 after buying an additional 43,553 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $326,626,000 after buying an additional 24,648 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.0 %

ECL opened at $253.76 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $157.59 and a one year high of $262.61. The stock has a market cap of $72.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $252.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by 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.