Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 131.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,687 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.06% of Ecolab worth $46,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 1.31 % 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. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 578,355 shares of company stock valued at $142,728,965. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.87.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $245.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $252.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $69.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $182.39 and a 52-week high of $262.61.

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

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.