Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 23,065 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 254,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 23,065 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $69,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $115,674,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,698,000. Saudi Central Bank increased its stake in Ecolab by 89.1% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 17,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,957,000 after buying an additional 8,384 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,932,000. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $7,298,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.58.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $304.55 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $285.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.42 billion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85. 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 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $318.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its 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 company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $308.12 per share, for a total transaction of $184,872.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 26,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,080,447. This represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.