Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Acquires 904 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 47.8% during the second quarter, owning a total of 2,794 shares valued at approximately $750,000.
• Despite recent insider selling by company executives, including SVP Jennifer J. Bradway and Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot, corporate insiders hold only 0.50% of Ecolab's stock.
• Ecolab's recent quarterly earnings report indicated a miss in EPS at $1.89, slightly below expectations, with guidance for Q3 EPS set between 2.020-2.120.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,794 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $278.09 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $274.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.92.

Ecolab Company 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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