Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 2.5% during the second quarter, holding a total of 115,780 shares valued at approximately $31.26 million.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 16th, representing an annualized dividend of $2.60 and a yield of 0.9%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Ecolab, with an average target price of $292.29 and ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Moderate Buy".

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Ecolab were worth $31,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% during the first 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 during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 3,428 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 during the period. Mirabaud & Cie SA increased its stake in 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 during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $278.80 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $273.25 and its 200-day moving average is $262.56. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The firm has a market cap of $79.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.09. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS 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 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. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.29.

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.

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