Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,920 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,708,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $743,726,000 after buying an additional 206,562 shares during the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.3% in the third quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 110,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,424,000 after buying an additional 7,540 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,178 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,639,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, 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 value of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $306.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $318.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $284.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.06. The company has a market cap of $85.83 billion, a PE ratio of 41.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. Ecolab had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ecolab

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.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, Ecolab has grown into a global company serving customers in many countries.