Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Colonial Trust Advisors

Key Points

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Colonial Trust Advisors grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,506 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,729 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors' holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

ECL traded up $0.5990 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $283.6590. 1,149,487 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,193,302. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $269.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.84. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.21.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, 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 directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.