Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Chemung Canal Trust Co.

Key Points

• Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 22,244 shares valued at approximately $5.99 million.
• Insider selling activity included Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot and SVP Jennifer J. Bradway, who reduced their ownership by 10.79% and 15.72%, respectively.
• Ecolab recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, to be paid on October 15, with a current dividend yield of 0.9%.

Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,209 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up 1.3% of Chemung Canal Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Chemung Canal Trust Co.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% in the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% in the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 transaction of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $276.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $272.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.17. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company has a market capitalization of $78.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. 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, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ECL. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.

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