BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd Takes $16.45 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 67,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,449,000. Ecolab accounts for 3.1% of BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $255.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $73.01 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.07.

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.