M&G Plc Sells 9,368 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

M&G PLC cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,834 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,368 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ecolab worth $39,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Ecolab by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $608,851,000 after purchasing an additional 122,715 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 2.3% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $326,626,000 after purchasing an additional 24,648 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.6 %

ECL traded up $1.58 during trading on Thursday, reaching $246.29. 1,027,210 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,087,972. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $174.08 and a one year high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $252.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.49.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. 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 ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.20.

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.