Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 318.2% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,005,000 after acquiring an additional 16,747 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $65,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $269.68 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.66.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab 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.