QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 19,501 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 207.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,501 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,423,116,000 after buying an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,851,000 after buying an additional 122,715 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,149,000 after buying an additional 43,553 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $326,626,000 after buying an additional 24,648 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 478,355 shares of company stock worth $117,922,965. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $246.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.48. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.79 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Ecolab 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.