Pathstone Holdings LLC Buys 1,070 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $244.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $244.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $182.39 and a 12 month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 32.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 578,355 shares of company stock valued at $142,728,965 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.