J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 32.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 46,319 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.00.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.6%

ECL stock opened at $283.59 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $267.85 and its 200 day moving average is $269.54. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The stock has a market cap of $80.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 41.95%.

Ecolab Company 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.