7,624 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Acquired by Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,624 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,947,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $279.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ECL stock traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $250.20. 1,428,312 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,087,249. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $250.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.83. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $262.61. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $70.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company 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. The company's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's payout ratio is 36.47%.

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.