Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Lowers Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Douglas Lane & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 4.1%, resulting in ownership of 35,583 shares valued at approximately $9.59 million.
• Several research analysts have upgraded Ecolab's stock ratings, with three giving it a Strong Buy rating and an average price target of $292.00.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, which will be paid on October 15th, representing a dividend yield of 1.0%.

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,539 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5%

Ecolab stock traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $265.50. 1,338,932 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,300,207. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $272.45 and a 200-day moving average of $261.36.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho lifted 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. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.