Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Reduced by WoodTrust Financial Corp

WoodTrust Financial Corp lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $244.72 on Thursday. 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 moving average is $252.45 and its 200-day moving average is $242.49. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.79 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.