4,650 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $847,544,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Ecolab by 119.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,036,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $548,671,000 after buying an additional 1,109,585 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 115.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $193,753,000 after purchasing an additional 389,981 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,676,000 after buying an additional 344,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,662,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,644,987,000 after acquiring an additional 250,980 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $282.59 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $269.23 and a 200-day moving average of $269.83. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.33.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.