Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by **3.7%**, bringing its total shares to **53,133**, worth approximately **$13.47 million**.
• Ecolab reported **$1.89 earnings per share**, slightly missing the expectation of **$1.90**, and its revenue matched analysts' forecast at **$4.03 billion**.
• In the most recent quarter, several institutional investors increased their positions in Ecolab, with **Brighton Jones LLC** raising its stake by **164.7%** during the 4th quarter.

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,133 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,019 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises about 0.8% of Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,188,736,000 after acquiring an additional 261,489 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Ecolab by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,549,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,744,000 after buying an additional 200,612 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Ecolab by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after buying an additional 514,944 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,718,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $689,154,000 after buying an additional 173,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $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. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 report on Thursday, August 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.21.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $0.5990 during trading on Friday, hitting $283.6590. The stock had a trading volume of 1,149,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,302. The company has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $269.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $259.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. 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 posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion for 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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 34.71%.

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.