Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 1,920 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,920 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,708,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $743,726,000 after buying an additional 206,562 shares during the period. Waycross Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 110,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,424,000 after buying an additional 7,540 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.7% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 7.4% in the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 4.2% during the third quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,178 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,639,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.58.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $306.02 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $318.93. The company has a market cap of $85.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $284.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $277.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company 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.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, Ecolab has grown into a global company serving customers in many countries.