American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 0.8%, owning 1,395,492 shares valued at approximately $353 million.
• Ecolab recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, yielding 0.9%, with the next payment scheduled for October 15.
• The company's stock has experienced a 0.6% decline, with recent earnings falling slightly short of analysts' expectations at $1.89 per share.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,395,492 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 11,521 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.49% of Ecolab worth $353,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 70.6% during the first 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. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $3.2880 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $283.3680. 1,000,146 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,311,182. The company has a market capitalization of $80.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50-day moving average is $268.71 and its 200 day moving average is $259.02. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $285.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given 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 34.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.