Waycross Partners LLC Buys 7,540 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Waycross Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 110,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,540 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up approximately 2.4% of Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $30,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,422,340,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,617,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,007,851,000 after purchasing an additional 51,712 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,412,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $641,609,000 after purchasing an additional 88,096 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Ecolab by 58.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $596,902,000 after purchasing an additional 830,726 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $578,923,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup upped 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. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.58.

Insider Activity

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

Ecolab Stock Down 1.6%

ECL stock traded down $5.01 on Friday, reaching $300.82. 2,219,181 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,476,912. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one 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. The company has a market cap of $84.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.18. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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.