Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Cantillon Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,155,739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 34,501 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for 1.8% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $295,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 56,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 29.4% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% during the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the third quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 4,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $245.97 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $182.39 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.09. The firm has a market cap of $69.65 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.06, for a total transaction of $24,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,718,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,372,030,892.46. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 32.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 578,355 shares of company stock worth $142,728,965. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.87.

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.