Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 9,762 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 7.2%, holding 126,325 shares valued at approximately $32 million after selling 9,762 shares.
• Several institutional investors have adjusted their positions, with notable increases including APG Asset Management N.V. boosting its holdings by 68.2% during the first quarter.
• Ecolab's quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share is set to be paid on October 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,325 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,762 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $32,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Baird R W raised 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, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $279.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 852,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,449. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $271.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.