APG Asset Management N.V. Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 68.2%, holding approximately 0.15% of the company, valued at $98.2 million after acquiring over 169,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple analysts have recently adjusted price targets for Ecolab, with Citigroup lowering its target from $320 to $315, while Robert W. Baird upgraded the stock from “neutral” to “outperform” with a target of $300.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share payable on October 15th, offering an annualized yield of 0.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 34.71%.

APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 68.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 418,491 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 169,724 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.15% of Ecolab worth $98,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,384,000 after buying an additional 2,668 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.71 on Tuesday, reaching $279.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,817,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,374. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $270.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.20. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ECL. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. 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. Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

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.