Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Arvest Investments Inc.

Arvest Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $390,687,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 27,950.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after purchasing an additional 735,934 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Ecolab by 295.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the first 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. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,248,000 after acquiring an additional 258,971 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents 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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $3.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $250.04. 1,023,685 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,187. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.34 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $252.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.89. 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 has a market cap of $70.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion for 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%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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 lifted their price target 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 lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

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.