Oak Ridge Investments LLC Has $11.69 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,310 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for 1.0% of Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 2.7 %

ECL stock opened at $245.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $252.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.61. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $159.15 and a one year high of $262.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ECL. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.