Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 3.6%, selling 2,044 shares during the second quarter, now owning 54,382 shares valued at $14.65 million.
• Ecolab's Q3 2025 earnings guidance is set between 2.020-2.120 EPS, with FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, to be paid on October 15th, representing a yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 34.71%.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,382 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,044 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 70.6% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE ECL opened at $276.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $272.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.17. The company has a market capitalization of $78.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (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 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Ecolab Company 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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