Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Lowers Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 2.1% during the first quarter, holding 134,669 shares valued at approximately $34.14 million.
• Ecolab is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share on October 15th, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.60 and a yield of 0.9%.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $1.89 per share, slightly missing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $4.03 billion.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,669 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,913 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $34,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 6.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,668 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $0.71 during trading 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. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $270.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.20. The stock has a market cap of $79.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.60, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06. 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 released its 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 firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 of the company's stock, 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.