Element Capital Management LLC Invests $2.74 Million in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC acquired 10,806 shares of Ecolab Inc., valued at approximately $2.74 million, in the first quarter of 2023.
• Ecolab reported $1.89 earnings per share for the last quarter, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $1.90.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, to be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,806 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,740,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3%

Ecolab stock traded up $0.9580 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $284.6180. The stock had a trading volume of 327,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,686. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.72 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $268.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.19.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

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.