Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 1.61 % 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, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.87.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $247.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.86 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $251.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.66.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ecolab

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.