Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $847,544,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 119.7% in the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,036,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $548,671,000 after buying an additional 1,109,585 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 389,981 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Ecolab by 64.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 344,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $282.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business 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 cap of $80.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 41.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $315.00 target price on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.33.

Ecolab Profile

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.