Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Raised by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after buying an additional 735,934 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 136.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,467,000 after purchasing an additional 206,973 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Ecolab by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 333,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,376,000 after buying an additional 155,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $248.95 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $251.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.80. The company has a market cap of $70.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $188.32 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.