1,331 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Purchased by IMS Capital Management

Key Points

• IMS Capital Management has acquired 1,331 shares of Ecolab Inc., valued at approximately $359,000, indicating strong interest from institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Ecolab, with target price changes and average price target set at $292.00, with a mix of "buy" and "hold" ratings.
• Ecolab has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing a 1.0% yield, with a payout ratio of 34.71%.

IMS Capital Management acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,331 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

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

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

ECL stock opened at $265.82 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $75.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average price is $272.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Ecolab Company 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.

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