OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,060 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises about 1.5% of OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.3% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,551,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth $201,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its stake in Ecolab by 56.6% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 20,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 7,375 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Ecolab by 14.4% in the first quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 31,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,993,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.5% in the first quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 166,844 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,912,000 after buying an additional 2,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.73% of the company’s stock.
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) opened at 129.81 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $132.19 and its 200-day moving average is $127.80. 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 $37.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68 and a beta of 0.98.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post $4.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 19th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.79%.
A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $141.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. Credit Suisse Group set a $128.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $133.43.
In other news, EVP Christophe Beck sold 6,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 42,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,391,879.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III purchased 75,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 in the last 90 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.
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