Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 65.5%, selling 68,841 shares and retaining 36,210 shares valued at $9.18 million.
• In recent transactions, Ecolab insiders such as Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold shares, while Director David Maclennan purchased shares, indicating mixed insider sentiment.
• Ecolab reported a quarterly EPS of $1.89, which missed consensus estimates, and has set its Q3 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 65.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 68,841 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $274.77. 133,345 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,294,919. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $272.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.08. The firm has a market cap of $77.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given 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 yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.