Hickory Point Bank & Trust Acquires New Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8 %

ECL traded up $2.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $269.87. 1,494,440 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,274,073. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $248.40 and its 200 day moving average is $249.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.