Boston Family Office LLC Has $25.61 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Boston Family Office LLC reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 534 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 1.7% of Boston Family Office LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Boston Family Office LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $25,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ECL. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 27,950.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after buying an additional 735,934 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 295.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,317,000 after buying an additional 591,040 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 580.7% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,248,000 after buying an additional 258,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 136.0% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,467,000 after buying an additional 206,973 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 32.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 838,770 shares of company stock valued at $206,273,864. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $245.30 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $186.00 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.45. The stock has a market cap of $69.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ECL. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.87.

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.