Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Buys New Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Argus Investors Counsel Inc. acquired 1,952 shares of Ecolab Inc., valued at approximately $526,000, during the second quarter.
• Ecolab's quarterly earnings for July 29th reported $1.89 EPS, slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.90.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.0%, payable on October 15th.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,952 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

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

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $271.04 on Friday. 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's fifty day moving average is $272.33 and its 200 day moving average is $261.44. The stock has a market cap of $76.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

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.

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