Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 70.6%, owning 330,271 shares after selling 792,721 shares during the first quarter.
• Notable investors like GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased their positions, with some raising stakes by over 27,000%.
• Ecolab's most recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.89, slightly missing analyst expectations, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share.

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 70.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,271 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 792,721 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.12% of Ecolab worth $82,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were 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. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $285.45. 682,682 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,307,145. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $268.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.19. 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 company has a market cap of $80.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

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.