United Asset Strategies Inc. Sells 8,854 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,162 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,854 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up about 1.3% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $2.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $250.45. The stock had a trading volume of 178,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,404. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $159.15 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $252.70 and its 200 day moving average is $241.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Company 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.