Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Major Shareholder Sells $25,698,995.82 in Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $1.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.30. 1,302,073 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,090,470. 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 fifty-two week low of $186.00 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $251.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.87.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,317,811,000 after acquiring an additional 68,043 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $981,007,000 after purchasing an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Ecolab by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,851,000 after purchasing an additional 122,715 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.