Bath Savings Trust Co Has $19.66 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Bath Savings Trust Co increased its shares in Ecolab Inc. by 1.3%, acquiring an additional 969 shares, bringing its total holdings to 72,974 shares valued at approximately $19.66 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., have recently raised their stakes in Ecolab, confirming the stock's popularity among large investors.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, set to be paid on October 15th, with an annualized yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 34.71%.

Bath Savings Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up about 2.0% of Bath Savings Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Bath Savings Trust Co's holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.8% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, 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 approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $0.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $265.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,441,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,223,678. The firm's fifty day moving average is $272.31 and its 200 day moving average is $261.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors 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 is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently 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.