Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Profund Advisors LLC

Profund Advisors LLC decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,589 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 64.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $308.48 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $86.48 billion, a PE ratio of 41.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $282.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.31. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $310.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.18. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 22.57%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.58.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.