Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Maia Wealth LLC

Maia Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $214,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $490,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $1,281,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Team Hewins LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.20.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $247.00. 46,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,082,747. The company has a 50 day moving average of $252.55 and a 200-day moving average of $242.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.79 and a 12-month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the company’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 value of $101,023,861.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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.