Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by World Equity Group Inc.

World Equity Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,811 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.6% in the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.0 %

Ecolab stock opened at $244.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.79 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company has a market capitalization of $69.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.

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.