Ethic Inc. Buys 3,950 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,950 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.1% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Ecolab by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 64.2% during 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 last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Ecolab Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $300.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.37 billion, a PE ratio of 40.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.85. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $318.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.58.

Ecolab 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.