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Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab logo with Basic Materials background

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 80.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,580 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE ECL traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $249.40. 1,017,061 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,104. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. 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 twelve month low of $191.53 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The business's 50-day moving average is $250.69 and its 200-day moving average is $245.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.87.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Ecolab

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of Ecolab 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 834,959 shares of company stock worth $205,323,667 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ecolab

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL)

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