Legacy Private Trust Co. Has $1.24 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 2,188.9% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $234.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $66.44 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.34 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.76.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 36.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.27.

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.