Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC Has $403,000 Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $914,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.07.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $1.81 on Tuesday, hitting $258.25. 848,962 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,092,814. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $261.54. The stock has a market cap of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $248.39 and a 200-day moving average of $239.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Ecolab 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.