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

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $245.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $251.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.00 and a 1 year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.87.

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.