Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,245 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,243 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,423,116,000 after buying an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Ecolab by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $608,851,000 after purchasing an additional 122,715 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $326,626,000 after purchasing an additional 24,648 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.20.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 32.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $2.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $247.61. 786,087 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,211. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $252.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.50. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $182.39 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The company has a market cap of $70.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

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.