Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New $31.28 Million Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 122,601 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,276,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $248.77 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.32 and a 52 week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667. Company 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.