B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $2.77 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG sold 3,393 shares of Ecolab Inc., reducing its stake by 23.7%, leaving it with a total of 10,942 shares valued at approximately $2.77 million.
• Several large investors increased their holdings in Ecolab during Q1, with Ieq Capital LLC raising its stake by 128.5% and others also making significant purchases.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%, with the payout scheduled for October 15th.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 23.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,393 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Ecolab by 1.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,208,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Ecolab by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 56,269 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $1.95 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $275.09. 524,869 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,297,259. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $271.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.85. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. The company has a market cap of $78.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. 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, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 15.72% 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 Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

About Ecolab

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.