Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 855 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.3% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Ecolab by 17.3% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.6% during the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leverty Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.5% during the third quarter. Leverty Financial Group LLC now owns 8,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.7 %

ECL opened at $245.70 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $159.15 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $252.69 and a 200-day moving average of $241.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a PE ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.