Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. This trade 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 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 transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 32.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 478,355 shares of company stock worth $117,922,965 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.0 %

ECL opened at $245.24 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $252.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $182.39 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ECL. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.