Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 663,023 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 97,864 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 0.23% of Ecolab worth $169,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $2.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $246.85. 716,166 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,087,589. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $252.55 and a 200 day moving average of $242.48. The stock has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.79 and a 52 week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during 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%. Ecolab's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.20.

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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was 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 available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was 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 worth $117,922,965 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.