Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Holdings Reduced by Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $245.11 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.39 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $252.35 and its 200-day moving average is $243.53.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.20.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 32.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.04% 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.