Nicollet Investment Management Inc. Sells 46 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises 2.0% of Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.1% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Ecolab by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 37,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,669,000 after buying an additional 2,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $245.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.39 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The stock has a market cap of $69.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 32.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 478,355 shares of company stock worth $117,922,965 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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.