KBC Group NV Boosts Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 64.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,475 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 129,738 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.12% of Ecolab worth $84,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 478,355 shares of company stock worth $117,922,965. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.54 on Thursday, reaching $248.36. 279,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,083,804. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $70.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $252.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.50. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $182.39 and a 1-year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average 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.