Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 641,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Ecolab worth $163,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.0% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 17.3% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, 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, November 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $248.49 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.16 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.27. The company has a market capitalization of $70.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.13.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 owns 30,388,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.