Kampmann Melissa S. Purchases 285 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Kampmann Melissa S. raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises 2.9% of Kampmann Melissa S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Kampmann Melissa S.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 2,805.1% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,635,000 after acquiring an additional 37,167 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $749,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 526.2% during the 4th quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,298,000 after purchasing an additional 47,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.56.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6 %

ECL stock opened at $240.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.45, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $229.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.92. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $243.37.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.