Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Glenview Trust Co

Key Points

• Glenview Trust Co. increased its Ecolab stake by 2.7% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 138,508 shares valued at approximately $38.0 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab.
• Ecolab reported quarterly earnings of $2.18 per share, in line with analyst expectations, while revenue rose 12.7% year over year to $4.69 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.73, representing a 1.0% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.58, above its reported trading price of $302.80.

Glenview Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,508 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co's holdings in Ecolab were worth $38,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co bought a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 64.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE ECL opened at $302.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 39.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.58.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.

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