Cantillon Capital Management LLC Has $295.10 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,155,739 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 34,501 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up about 1.8% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Ecolab worth $295,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $390,687,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $188,578,000 after acquiring an additional 735,934 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Ecolab by 295.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 580.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 136.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $85,467,000 after purchasing an additional 206,973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, 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. Eight research 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, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.87.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 32.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 578,355 shares of company stock worth $142,728,965. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE ECL traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $244.27. 1,131,067 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,084,775. The business's 50-day moving average is $252.15 and its 200-day moving average is $244.20. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $182.39 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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.