Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,738 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 11.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.7% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 117,955 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,117,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $981,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,027 shares during the last quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 9.2% in the third quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 52,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,402,000 after acquiring an additional 4,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.1% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 55,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,169,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $247.70 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.86 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $251.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $244.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $70.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.87.

Insider Activity

In related 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 directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value 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 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 834,959 shares of company stock worth $205,323,667. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.