Graypoint LLC Buys 105 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Graypoint LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.20.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $249.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $252.31 and a 200-day moving average of $242.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.34 and a 1 year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab 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.