Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc Boosts Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 84.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE ECL opened at $247.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $189.58 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.23.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667 in the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.87.

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.