Carmignac Gestion Has $2.70 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

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Carmignac Gestion trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 23.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,656 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,351 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion's holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased 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 purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 765,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $179,379,000 after purchasing an additional 38,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 76,214 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,858,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.5990 during trading on Friday, reaching $283.6590. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,149,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,302. The business's 50-day moving average price is $269.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.84. The firm has a market cap of $80.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's 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 owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% 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.