Empowered Funds LLC Grows Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab 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 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 represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 838,770 shares of company stock valued at $206,273,864. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $245.30 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $251.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $186.00 and a one year high of $262.61. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.87.

Ecolab Company 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.