Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Sold by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 30.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 18,136 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 172.9% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,941 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.3% during the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the third quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC now owns 43,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,923,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 33,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 30.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $308.12 per share, for a total transaction of $184,872.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 26,225 shares in the company, valued at $8,080,447. The trade was a 2.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ecolab

These are some of the ECL headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Ecolab from Equal Weight to Overweight and raised its price target to $380 from $315—about 23% above the cited share price. The firm highlighted the CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions and potential to benefit from AI data-center cooling needs. This water technology stock is set to get a big boost from AI, says Wells Fargo Ecolab upgraded at Wells Fargo, touting CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions
• Positive Sentiment: Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares for roughly $184,900 at an average price of $308.12, increasing his holdings by 2.34%. Insider buying can signal confidence in the company’s prospects. Ecolab Director David Maclennan Acquires 600 Shares

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $309.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $318.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $286.49 and its 200 day moving average is $277.54.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, cleaning and infection-prevention products and services to businesses and institutions. Its solutions help customers manage water use, maintain sanitary environments and support operational efficiency. The company serves a range of industries, including food and beverage, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment programs, pest-elimination services, and related monitoring and consulting support.