Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for approximately 0.9% of Trust Co. of Vermont’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake 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 valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 42.1% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $257.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $249.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.51. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $261.54.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.