Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 565,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,441 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $144,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $390,687,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,578,000 after buying an additional 735,934 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Ecolab by 295.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,317,000 after buying an additional 591,040 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,423,116,000 after buying an additional 304,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 580.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,248,000 after buying an additional 258,971 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $248.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.16 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of Ecolab 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 directly owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This trade 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.20.

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.