Klingman & Associates LLC Invests $709,000 in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Klingman & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $709,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded up $3.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $250.04. 1,023,685 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,187. 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 cap of $70.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $175.34 and a one year high of $262.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Ecolab's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, 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 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965 over the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.