Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,090 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $530,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,551,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,414,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,467,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.
Ecolab Stock Performance
Shares of ECL stock traded up $0.5990 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $283.6590. 1,149,487 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,193,302. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $269.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $259.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS 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. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ecolab Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.
Insider Transactions at Ecolab
In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.21.
Get Our Latest Analysis on ECL
About Ecolab
(
Free Report)
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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