Trust Co. of Vermont Has $7.70 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,609 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northstar Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 126.8% in the second quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 7,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 4,215 shares during the period. Swedbank boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.5% in the second quarter. Swedbank now owns 1,546,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,249,000 after buying an additional 120,963 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.0% in the second quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division now owns 64,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,503,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. Pennsylvania Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 10.7% in the second quarter. Pennsylvania Trust Co now owns 39,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,250,000 after buying an additional 3,829 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in the second quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 38,077 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,055,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. 75.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE ECL) traded down 1.15% on Thursday, reaching $130.84. 209,535 shares of the company were exchanged. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.65 and a 12-month high of $134.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $132.30 and its 200 day moving average is $127.71.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.01. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post $4.80 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.79%.

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Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS AG reissued a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target (up from $144.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank AG boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Ecolab has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $133.43.

In other Ecolab news, EVP Christophe Beck sold 6,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.11, for a total transaction of $884,558.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,391,879.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bruno Lavandier sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.52, for a total transaction of $133,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,810 shares of company stock worth $5,897,361 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.

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