BSW Wealth Partners Takes $257,000 Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• BSW Wealth Partners has acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc., purchasing 954 shares valued at approximately $257,000 during Q2.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Wedmont Private Capital and Palumbo Wealth Management LLC, have recently increased their stakes in Ecolab, indicating growing interest in the stock.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with an annualized yield of 0.9%, to be paid on October 15th to shareholders of record on September 16th.

BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 954 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $273.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $77.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $272.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.96. 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 posted 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 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. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% 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.

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