Leeward Financial Partners LLC Raises Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Leeward Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up 1.7% of Leeward Financial Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Leeward Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $244.52. 130,493 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,085,085. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.79 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $252.64 and a 200 day moving average of $242.10. The stock has a market cap of $69.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.