Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Has $12.38 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $390,687,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,248,000 after buying an additional 258,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 136.0% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,467,000 after buying an additional 206,973 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $261.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $250.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.83. The company has a market cap of $74.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.42, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ECL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.80.

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.