QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 19,501 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,501 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE ECL traded down $1.81 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $245.04. 675,151 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,085,671. The stock has a market cap of $69.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 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 1 year low of $172.79 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $252.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.48.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. 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 can be accessed through this link. In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the firm'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 owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.