Peak Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Peak Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 517 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $549,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.0% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 565,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $144,383,000 after buying an additional 5,441 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.7% during the third quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 45,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 11.9% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was 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 link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

ECL opened at $249.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $70.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.46. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.40 and a 52 week 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

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.