Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stake Lessened by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,653 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $15,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leverty Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the third quarter. Leverty Financial Group LLC now owns 8,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.27.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $231.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.47%.

Ecolab 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.