Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 1,510 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,510 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 32.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 478,355 shares of company stock worth $117,922,965 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $245.24 on Friday. 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 $182.39 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $252.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13.

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

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.