Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stake Increased by L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for 1.0% of L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in Ecolab by 62.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 100,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.06, for a total transaction of $24,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,718,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,372,030,892.46. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 360,415 shares of company stock valued at $88,350,899 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 6.2 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $261.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $73.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. 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 1 year low of $201.99 and a 1 year high of $267.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $241.80 and a 200-day moving average of $245.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.60.

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.