Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 58,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.58.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $300.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.93, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.93. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $318.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, cleaning and infection-prevention products and services to businesses and institutions. Its solutions help customers manage water use, maintain sanitary environments and support operational efficiency.

The company serves a range of industries, including food and beverage, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment programs, pest-elimination services, and related monitoring and consulting support.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, Ecolab has grown into a global company serving customers in many countries.