LS Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,644 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 554 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises 2.6% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of 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 0.00 % 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 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $246.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $69.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $174.08 and a 1-year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.

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.