Brasada Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 19,734 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Brasada Capital Management LP has invested $5 million in Ecolab Inc. by acquiring 19,734 shares, demonstrating growing institutional interest.
• Ecolab reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.89 for the last quarter, falling slightly short of the estimated $1.90, with a revenue of $4.03 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, set to be paid on October 15, and currently has a yield of 0.9%.

Brasada Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,734 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,003,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 261,489 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $831,744,000 after purchasing an additional 200,612 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,718,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $689,154,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,517,118 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $589,811,000 after purchasing an additional 12,911 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6%

ECL traded down $1.70 on Wednesday, hitting $273.09. 1,428,947 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,300,944. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The company has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $272.08 and its 200-day moving average is $260.95.

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). 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 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. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.21.

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.