First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.
Ecolab Stock Performance
Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $245.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $252.69 and its 200-day moving average 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 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. 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 research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on ECL
Insider Activity
In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s 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 owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.
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.
See Also
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