Aprio Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 88.4% during the first quarter, owning 3,098 shares valued at approximately $785,000.
• Several institutional investors have modified their holdings in Ecolab, with Saudi Central Bank and others purchasing new stakes, bringing institutional ownership to nearly 75% of the company's stock.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, expected to be paid on October 15, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 88.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,098 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,051,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3,050.4% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 76,710 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,975,000 after buying an additional 79,310 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $852,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.6%

ECL traded up $1.65 during trading on Monday, hitting $275.21. 1,577,573 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,303,575. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $272.56 and a 200 day moving average of $261.08. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.07.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during 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 anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the firm's 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 acquisition, the director 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.