10,147 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL Purchased by Sawyer & Company Inc

Key Points

• Sawyer & Company purchased 10,147 Ecolab shares worth approximately $2.8 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab.
• Ecolab shares rose 0.3% to $289.10, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $4.42 billion and EPS of $2.09, both slightly ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue increased 9.7% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $324.50. Ecolab also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% yield.

Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,786,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $115,674,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $16,698,000. Saudi Central Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 89.1% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 17,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,957,000 after acquiring an additional 8,384 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $31,932,000. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $7,298,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $289.10. The stock had a trading volume of 437,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,843. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $81.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $279.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.04. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $342.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecolab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ecolab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $324.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Profile

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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