Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 433 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $245.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $69.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $251.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.00 and a 1-year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 32.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 838,770 shares of company stock worth $206,273,864. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.87.

Ecolab Company 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.