Whittier Trust Co. Has $16.96 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 66,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,293 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $259.36. 304,097 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,084,691. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $74.07 billion, a PE ratio of 48.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $250.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given 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 0.88%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.80.

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.