First PREMIER Bank Raises Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,996 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $224,000. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 41,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,608,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $252.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $246.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.32. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $256.59.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.07.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.