2,437 Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Purchased by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $115,674,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $16,698,000. Saudi Central Bank lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 89.1% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 17,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,957,000 after buying an additional 8,384 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $31,932,000. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $300.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.93, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $318.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.58.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, cleaning and infection-prevention products and services to businesses and institutions. Its solutions help customers manage water use, maintain sanitary environments and support operational efficiency.

The company serves a range of industries, including food and beverage, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment programs, pest-elimination services, and related monitoring and consulting support.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, Ecolab has grown into a global company serving customers in many countries.