Ecolab Inc. (ECL) Shares Bought by Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC

Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,336 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 60.0% in the first quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.5% in the first quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.7% in the first quarter. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America now owns 1,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. 75.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Inc. (ECL) traded down 1.61% during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $130.23. 770,269 shares of the stock were exchanged. The company has a market cap of $37.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $132.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.71. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.65 and a 12 month high of $134.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.40 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post $4.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 19th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 18th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 33.79%.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS AG reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price objective (up from $144.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group set a $128.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank AG increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $133.43.

In other news, EVP Christophe Beck sold 6,959 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.11, for a total value of $884,558.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,391,879.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III bought 75,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $132.57 per share, for a total transaction of $10,009,035.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,810 shares of company stock worth $5,897,361 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene and energy technologies and services. The Company’s cleaning and sanitizing programs and products, pest elimination services and equipment maintenance and repair services support customers in the foodservice, food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, government and education, retail, textile care and commercial facilities management sectors in over 170 countries.