Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Invests $1.94 Million in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired 7,200 shares of Ecolab Inc. for approximately $1.937 million during the second quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab's stock, with several firms significantly increasing their stakes in the company.
• Ecolab has set a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, reflecting a 1.0% yield and a payout ratio of 34.71%.

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,937,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4%

ECL traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $266.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 388,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,260. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The stock has a market cap of $75.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average is $272.31 and its 200-day moving average is $261.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of 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. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ECL. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.00.

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.