Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,343 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 187,674 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $981,007,000 after buying an additional 35,027 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Ecolab by 5.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 122,715 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $358,250,000 after purchasing an additional 8,332 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the second 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 during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $2.36 on Friday, hitting $250.34. The company had a trading volume of 931,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company's fifty day moving average price is $250.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.41. The company has a market capitalization of $70.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $189.58 and a 12-month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 31.98%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $279.87.

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.