Cornerstone Advisors LLC Sells 18,136 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Cornerstone Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 18,136 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $308.12 per share, for a total transaction of $184,872.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 26,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,080,447. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab News Roundup

Investors following ECL have been watching these news items:

• 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 Stock Performance

ECL stock opened at $309.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $286.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.54. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $318.93. 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 firm has a market cap of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.85.

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

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.