Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock: ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Stake

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors increased its Ecolab stake by 3.5% in the third quarter, owning 659,235 shares valued at approximately $181 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 74.91% of Ecolab’s outstanding stock.
• Ecolab reported quarterly EPS of $2.18, in line with analyst estimates, while revenue rose 12.7% year over year to $4.69 billion. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, or $2.92 annually, yielding about 1.0%.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Ecolab carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $328.58, above its reported share price of $302.80.

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 659,235 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,263 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.24% of Ecolab worth $181,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $244,381,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,617,425 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,007,851,000 after acquiring an additional 51,712 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Ecolab by 3.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,412,057 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $641,609,000 after acquiring an additional 88,096 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $596,902,000 after acquiring an additional 830,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $302.80 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $282.01 and its 200-day moving average is $276.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.87.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.18. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecolab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 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 research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.58.

About Ecolab

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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