74,381 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments acquired 74,381 Ecolab shares during the third quarter, worth approximately $20.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab’s outstanding stock.
• Ecolab’s latest quarterly results met analyst expectations with adjusted EPS of $2.18, while revenue increased 12.7% year over year to $4.69 billion.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.58. Ecolab also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, representing a 0.9% annual yield.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 74,381 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $20,424,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth $28,000. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $30,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of ECL opened at $308.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $310.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $282.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecolab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ecolab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.

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