Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by AlphaCore Capital LLC

AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $243.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $251.86 and its 200-day moving average is $244.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.00 and a 12 month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 32.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 662,228 shares of company stock worth $163,358,368 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.87.

Ecolab 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.