Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Decreases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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 quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 9,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 198,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,628,000 after buying an additional 4,179 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 144.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 21.1% during the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.80.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $261.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $250.32 and a 200 day moving average of $239.83. 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 twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company has a market capitalization of $74.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

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.