2,437 Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northeast Investment Management boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.5% in the third quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 6,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 11,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,191,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,349 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,601,000 after buying an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 39,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after buying an additional 12,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.58.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:ECL opened at $300.82 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $318.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.93.

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

Ecolab 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.

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