Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Buys 2,950 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 253.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $28,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Ecolab by 202.6% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,177.8% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 23.01% 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 price of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $282.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $269.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.83. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The company has a market capitalization of $80.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.95%.

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.