Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Major Shareholder William H. Gates III Sells 70,000 Shares

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $245.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $251.75 and its 200-day moving average is $244.29. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.00 and a 12 month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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 return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,120,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 10,756 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,484,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $456,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.