BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 67,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,449,000. Ecolab makes up 3.1% of BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 17.3% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 42.1% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. 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 report on Monday, September 30th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.07.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $255.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $73.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.35, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $256.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.44.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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.