Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 469,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,961 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $87,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.3 %

Ecolab stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $183.73. The stock had a trading volume of 52,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,072,077. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.04. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $191.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.99 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 8.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, September 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $207.00 to $187.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.64.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. 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.