New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $51.56 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 201,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,602 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $51,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $252.60 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $159.15 and a one year high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.58. 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) last issued its 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.20.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.