Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Buys 1,206 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 35.8% during the second quarter, now owning a total of 4,578 shares worth approximately $1.23 million.
• Ecolab recently reported earnings per share of $1.89 for the latest quarter, slightly missing analysts' expectations, while revenue remained steady at $4.03 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, which will be distributed on October 15th, reflecting an annual yield of 1.0%.

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,578 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,188,736,000 after purchasing an additional 261,489 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 4.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $964,885,000 after buying an additional 145,902 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $906,900,000 after buying an additional 27,619 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,718,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $689,154,000 after buying an additional 173,298 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $267.53 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The firm has a market cap of $75.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.07. 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 50-day moving average price is $272.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.32.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $4.03 billion for 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup cut 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. Robert W. Baird increased 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, September 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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