5,680 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd.

Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,680 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.00.

Top Ecolab Stories

Here are a few of the latest stories about ECL:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Ecolab from Equal Weight to Overweight and raised its price target to $380 from $315—about 23% above the cited share price. The firm highlighted the CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions and potential to benefit from AI data-center cooling needs. This water technology stock is set to get a big boost from AI, says Wells Fargo Ecolab upgraded at Wells Fargo, touting CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions
• Positive Sentiment: Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares for roughly $184,900 at an average price of $308.12, increasing his holdings by 2.34%. Insider buying can signal confidence in the company’s prospects. Ecolab Director David Maclennan Acquires 600 Shares

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $309.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $286.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.85. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $318.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $308.12 per share, for a total transaction of $184,872.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 26,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,080,447. The trade was a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, cleaning and infection-prevention products and services to businesses and institutions. Its solutions help customers manage water use, maintain sanitary environments and support operational efficiency. The company serves a range of industries, including food and beverage, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment programs, pest-elimination services, and related monitoring and consulting support.