Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after buying an additional 304,402 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Ecolab by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,851,000 after acquiring an additional 122,715 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $326,626,000 after purchasing an additional 24,648 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $250.04 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.89. The stock has a market cap of $70.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.34 and a 12-month high of $262.61. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

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.