Great Diamond Partners LLC Sells 450 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Great Diamond Partners LLC lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 26.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $252.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $71.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $159.15 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $252.70 and its 200 day moving average is $241.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.20.

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.