Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Major Shareholder Sells $17,216,500.00 in Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ECL opened at $245.30 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.00 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The company has a market capitalization 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.45.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently 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.